Genie Bouchard Was So Stressed Out Over Tennis That She Couldn’t Eat

by Tom Gainey | May 24th, 2016, 6:24 pm
  • 6 Comments

Following a very good 62, 62 win over Laura Siegemund of Germany in the first round at the French Open today, Genie Bouchard spoke more about how she was having trouble eating last summer due to expectations of winning that had been placed upon her.

“I felt a lot of pressure and kind of this expectation if you win a match it’s normal and if you lose it’s a disaster,” said Bouchard. “Before matches I was very nervous and definitely had trouble eating. I just felt like it would come right back up.

“It’s a difficulty I went through. And not just before matches, it happened to me at other meals as well.”


Bouchard had stormed onto the scene two years ago reaching the Australian and the French Open semifinals before the Wimbledon finals. And then had all those points to defend last summer.

“I was just so stressed I was burning calories even more than I normally would, so it was hard to kind of intake enough to keep my weight up or even gain weight, which was the goal, to become stronger,” she said.

“I feel like I learned from it. I know now that even if I feel sick I have to force food down my throat.

“Yeah, I feel like I’ve come out stronger and able to deal with a problem if it ever comes back to me again.”

Bouchard has since rejoined with former coach Nick Saviano. And despite an ongoing lawsuit with the USTA, she seems to be back on the rise.

The 27th-ranked now faces Timea Bacsinszky in a battle of former French Open semifinals.

“I’m excited. I want a rematch from Indian Wells,” Bouchard said. “I know she plays great, especially on this surface, I think. But I’m going to go for it.

“I know with my game that I can definitely come out on top, but as usual it’s always one point at a time.”


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6 Comments for Genie Bouchard Was So Stressed Out Over Tennis That She Couldn’t Eat

django Says:

Did she get her payout from sueing the USTA?

May 24th, 2016 at 10:00 pm


BBB Says:

I watched this interview, and it didn’t quite ring true to me.

May 25th, 2016 at 3:03 am


SG1 Says:

There’s a lot of pressure to look a certain way when you’re in the public eye. Particularly for a player like Genie who for a while anyway, was the new “IT” girl on tour. Elite athletes aren’t immune from the pressures of having to look a certain way. I for one, entirely believe what she is saying. It didn’t make sense that her game completely fell off the face of the earth for a while for no apparent reason. This is as good a reason as any. If you can’t eat properly, how can you perform to your potential. Novak is a perfect example of how diet can transform a player. It only seems logical that this can work in reverse as well.

May 25th, 2016 at 12:43 pm


Pamela Says:

Suing the WTA was not the best idea (IMO) and interestingly enough, nobody has asked her about it… I agree with SG1.. It is entirely possible for your emotions to rule… I have a daughter who can’t eat when she is upset or stressed.. that can definitely affect, not only her game, but her entire life… nice to see her “back” and hope she continues to win.

May 25th, 2016 at 1:02 pm


RZ Says:

@SG1 – very true.
There’s also the stress of keeping up with the results once you’ve become an established player. I think one of the reason Bouchard did so well in 2014 was that she is got through a lot of matches by being scrappy and took advantage of the draws she had. It was always going to be difficult to follow that up the next year and the pressure of that and dealing with being in the limelight a whole lot more got to her. It’s a shame that when she started getting it back together again, she had her concussion. But as long as she retains her ability to be scrappy, I think she can work her way back into the top 10 but it might take a while.

May 25th, 2016 at 1:42 pm


Siddy Says:

SHE SUED THE USTA NOT THE WTA. The WTA is not a corrupt organization without accountability. They would have done the right thing. The USTA never does the right thing EVER. They need to be disbaneded.

July 19th, 2016 at 2:23 pm

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