Tennis glamour girl Eugenie Bouchard has spoken about how sex appeal has helped her become more than just an athlete and how it’s benefiting women’s sports.
The 30-year-old Canadian also said tennis is a great sport for the sex appeal side and spoke about the opportunities it offers outside her field.
“Tennis is first and foremost a great sport for sexual attraction,” Bouchard said in an interview with YouTuber Valeria Lipovetsky“We wear short skirts and tank tops.
“It’s fun to turn on the TV and watch that. I was able to get some great marketing deals off the field right away. I was asked to be in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition a couple of times.”
“Exploring that path was definitely on my to-do list. It’s definitely part of who I am because I love it.”
Eugenie Bouchard on how sex appeal is good for tennis and women’s sports
Bouchard appeared in the Wimbledon final at the age of 20, losing to Serena Williams
Bouchard’s tennis career has been marred by injuries since she burst onto the scene in 2014. At age 20, she reached the Wimbledon final, but lost the Grand Slam match to Serena Williams.
However, Bouchard spoke candidly about how modeling helped her move beyond just being a sports star. She also argued that her non-tennis activities helped expand her fan base and bring more eyes to the sport.
‘Why would I put myself in a box? Why wouldn’t I try to get bigger or better, or transcend tennis, or explore other areas?,” she said. ‘Tennis is the only thing I know, but it can’t be the only thing I will ever do in my life.
‘So I found it really interesting to be in magazines or do fashion things and see that I actually liked those things too.’
Bouchard’s tennis career was plagued by injuries and she has since taken up pickleball.
The former world No. 5 player shared how modeling expanded her fan base
Bouchard insisted that tennis is a great sport for the ‘sex appeal side’ – referring to their outfits
In an interview with ESPN earlier this year, Bouchard said her tennis career is not over yet
‘[It’s] just growing my fan base, my audience, which in turn helps me get better brand deals, better endorsements. Not just in a personal way for me, ‘OK, I can actually make more money off of this,’ but in a general way, ‘OK, we have someone who might be a casual fan and come to the Miami Open to see me play.'”
“That’s good for tennis in general, for women’s tennis, for women’s sports, that’s good for everything.”
The former world No. 5 player has taken up pickleball in recent years, but emphasized in an interview with ESPN in January that her tennis career is not over.
Bouchard’s last tour-level appearance was at the Guadalajara Open in September. Unfortunately, her tournament streak ended in the Round of 32 when she was eliminated by Veronika Kudermetova.