While social media has significantly boosted the off-court following of Canadian tennis player Genie Bouchard, it has also brought with it a wave of negativity.
The 30-year-old recently touched on how sharing facets of her life online has made her a consistent target of hate.
“I would get so much hate for doing anything other than tennis,” Bouchard said in a recent interview with The Times. “It was a burden I would bear on my shoulders and it was really hard.”
Luckily, she seems to have weathered the ugliest part of the storm.
“At least it’s more accepted now,” she added. “Not that I was the only pioneer to do these things but I feel like I made it a little bit more normal.”
Bouchard, who first rose to fame back in 2014 when she became a Wimbledon finalist, is very active on social media, particularly Instagram. The athlete’s page features red carpet shots, company collaborations, steamy photo shoots, and plenty of tennis-related content.
As a result, she’s seen a range of reactions from the public over the years.
“I’ve experienced all ends of the spectrum,” Bouchard told Daily Hive in a 2022 interview. “I experienced the love when I first started out. Then when I didn’t have the same results, I experienced extreme hate. I think since I’ve been out a little bit, I feel like I’ve actually gotten more love.
Bouchard boasts a massive following of 2.3 million users. But the Montreal native, who made her pro pickleball debut earlier this year, was often advised to avoid stepping outside court lines. However, she’s seen a major shift in public perspective, arguing that athletes are now encouraged to get personal with their fans.
“It’s great that the world has changed over the past 10 years and now not only is it acceptable to do off-court things, it’s actually encouraged,” she told The Times. “Back in the day, I felt like I was being shoved into a box, like, you can’t do anything besides tennis.”
With that said, tennis has granted Bouchard, who turned pro in 2009, plenty of opportunities to “explore the fashion world, TV, and all these other things.” And for that, she is thankful.
As she continues to build her online brand, the former fifth-ranked singles player plans to remain active on both the tennis and pickleball professional tours for the foreseeable future.
“I’m going to put tennis tournaments in where I can fit them in my schedule,” she said. “Tennis is what I love and what I still want to keep doing. The pickleball schedule is the priority but I do want to insert those tennis tournaments.”