Eugenie Bouchard says it was really tough to navigate between her tennis and school duties as a kid, but adds she has no regrets because everything paid off in the end.
After making her first tennis steps in her hometown of Montreal, Bouchard moved to Florida because she felt it would give her a greater chance at succeeding.
That turned out to be true as Bouchard was just 14 when she debuted in pro tennis by appearing in a couple of ITF tournaments during the 2008 season. By 2011, the Canadian already had two ITF titles in her collection - appeared in four WTA tournaments - and registered her first WTA main-draw win by defeating Alison Riske in 2011 Washington.
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Then, during the 2014 season, a 20-year-old Bouchard reached the Wimbledon final and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world.
But before all of that happened, Bouchard was in constant stress as handling the tennis and school responsibilities was "too much" at times.
Bouchard: My childhood was tough... But the sacrifice ended up being worth it
"Definitely felt like I had to go there train at academies, the coach. Its kind of the Mecca for tennis, I would say, in the US, besides maybe California. I love Canada. Canada was great, but tennis at the time was really not what it is now in Canada," the 2014 Wimbledon finalist said on The Kitchen Pickleball podcast.
"Im like traveling on the road with my science book, and after playing tennis for six hours that day, Im trying to do my assignments, and I give them in late, and I take tests late. And so it was definitely tough handling both school and tennis, especially in the later years when tennis got more important, and school got harder. So, um, tough childhood, but you know, sacrifice ended up being worth it."
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After a lightning start to her career, Bouchard started to struggle with injuries and confidence. The 31-year-old appeared in a total of four tournaments in the last two years, before retiring from tennis in late July.
Bouchard has since switched to pro pickleball.
