Eugenie Bouchard: Why I Really Retired
6/2/20261 hr 1 min
Eugenie Bouchard returns to Tennis Insider Club for one of her most honest conversations yet.
After reaching the Wimbledon final at 20, becoming one of the most talked-about players in tennis, and carrying the pressure of expectation for years, Genie opens up about why she really decided to retire.
In this episode, she talks with Caroline Garcia and Borja Duran about the emotional cost of elite tennis, the pressure to repeat her 2014 breakthrough, the criticism she received for building a life beyond the court, the injuries she played through, and the strange freedom that came once she finally said: this is the end.
Genie explains that she did not retire because she could no longer play. She still knew she could compete. But the demands of giving everything to tennis left little room for anything else in life. She also reflects on the mental spiral after difficult losses, how negative self-talk can become dangerous, and why being famous so young is much harder than people imagine.
This is a conversation about retirement, but also about identity, ambition, sacrifice, fame, pressure, and learning to define success on your own terms.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsEugenie Bouchard· Guest0:00
It's not because I can't hold a racket that I'm retiring.
Borja Duran· Host0:02
Mm-hmm.
Eugenie Bouchard· Guest0:02
I know I can still play good tennis. It's just the demands to fully give it everything, to have a chance to be at the top, is so much that you can't prioritize anything else in life.
Speaker 30:12
Did you feel you were chasing the level you had in 2014?
Eugenie Bouchard· Guest0:17
Ever since that result- Yeah ... it was kind of this pressure to repeat that result and show that level of tennis again. I just felt this crippling pressure, and I therefore was so hard on myself.
Borja Duran· Host0:27
You were kind of judged by it. [clears throat] Do you think this has changed now?
Eugenie Bouchard· Guest0:30
Oh, completely changed. [laughs] Now, if you don't have a charity, if you don't have a skincare line- [laughs] ... if you don't, you know, do all these things, it's like- Yeah ... what are you doing? You're just a tennis player? I mean, that's crazy.
Speaker 30:42
[laughs] Hello, insiders. It's Caro Garcia. Before we start, one quick thing. If you enjoy this conversation, hit the subscribe button. It's the best way to help us grow and keep bringing you the players and coaches you love. Thank you so much. Jenny, thank you so much for being with us again, um- Of course ... one and a half year after our first episode.
Eugenie Bouchard· Guest1:04
Wow. I thought it was, like, longer. I feel like- Yeah, likewise.
Borja Duran· Host1:07
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like- I feel like it maybe was years ago It was a bit more, but- No, it was, it was lit- I mean, we- It was August '24. 2024.
Eugenie Bouchard· Guest1:12
It was during US Open 2024.
Borja Duran· Host1:13
Yeah, a year and a half.
Speaker 31:14
We were both still playing tennis. Now we are both retired. [laughs] How are you?
Eugenie Bouchard· Guest1:19
Look at us. [laughs] [laughs] Matching striped shirts.
Speaker 31:22
[laughs] Yeah.
Eugenie Bouchard· Guest1:22
Life is good. You're, I mean, you're married and pregnant, so you got that on me.
Borja Duran· Host1:26
Yes.
Eugenie Bouchard· Guest1:26
[laughs] Um, life is great. Um, I'm so happy to be trying