Well aware that the posts about her on social media have generated a lot of reactions, Quebecer Eugenie Bouchard says she was affected by the hateful comments about her, which has also affected her performance on the tennis courts.
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The former world number 5 gave an interview to the British daily The Times published recently and took the opportunity to return to a problem that had complicated her life in various ways. The photos showing her in a bikini on the beach or in luxurious clothes gave arguments to her detractors claiming that she was leaving her sports career aside.
So the unflattering remarks aimed at her clearly did not fall on deaf ears.
“Back then, I would work out for six hours a day before I would post a message that I was at the movies. And I would get hate. Let’s just say that social media was not a true reflection of what my day was like,” she said.
“I got so much hate for doing something other than tennis. It was a heavy burden on my shoulders and it was really hard,” she added later in the conversation.
On the other hand, the 30-year-old is happy that “in the last 10 years the world has changed and accomplishing things off the field is not only accepted, but also encouraged.”
“Before, I felt like I was in a box where you can’t do anything else except tennis. This sport has given me chances to explore the fashion world, television and other possibilities. Why would I say no? We are talking about my entire life here,” she said.
Too young?
Reaching the Wimbledon final in 2014 certainly created high, perhaps even excessive, expectations for someone ranked 524th in the world and wanting to start playing tennis again “in early August.” The media whirlwind created around her and her entourage put more obstacles in her path.
“There is no perfect recipe for how to handle a significant change in your life like what I experienced in 2014. There is no way to prepare for this for myself or the people around me,” she explained to the Times.
“Obviously, looking back, I have some regrets. I wouldn’t have stopped working with my coach at the time [Nick Saviano]. If I had to do it again, I would have kept his services for more stability, especially since I was already living a lot of it. Why change such an important person on my team? He was an excellent instructor and would have continued to help me progress.”
Brief, Genie would have rewritten many chapters of her history if she had had the chance.
“I wouldn’t have taken the comments personally and let hate flood my head. Brainwashing works and if you start hearing negative things about yourself over and over again, it becomes hard not to believe it,” she said. “I wish I could have gone back and let it not hurt my confidence because it affected my self-perception and even my game.”
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2024-07-12 19:04:11
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