Bouchard’s family were not particularly sporty by most standards. Her father, Michel Bouchard, was an investment banker, and not very interested in sports. Eugenie was born in Montreal in 1994, along with her twin sister Beatrice not six minutes earlier. On top of that, she also has two younger siblings. However, it was only Eugenie herself who would become particularly interested in tennis.
At the age of five, Eugenie Bouchard started playing tennis frequently. This is the typical starting age for most professionals, so it was clear from the outset that she was destined for great things. Around the age of twelve, however, things progressed even more. It was obviously clear that she had some considerable talent when it came to tennis, as her family began to support her strongly in these efforts. Her mother and herself moved to Florida when she was twelve. Primarily, this move was carried out so that she could be coached by Nick Saviano, a leading tennis coach. It was around this time that she met a longstanding childhood friend, tennis player Laura Robson. Around this time, her siblings began referring to her as ‘the chosen one’.
Although distant geographically, her father was anything but distant when it came to showing support. In fact, her whole family were keenly behind her even from this young age. Around the time that Eugenie and her mother moved to Florida, her father began trying to find ways to support her endeavours financially. To that end, he even established a limited partnership company which he called ‘Tennis Mania’. With this partnership, he contributed greatly towards Eugenie’s career. He and his two investors contributed money to the funding of her career. This was in exchange for ten percent of her earnings once she became a professional tennis player. It seems obvious that this did indeed help her to forge ahead with her career. However, the return on this investment was ruled unfair by a court judge later on.
STARTING HER PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Regardless, Eugenie Bouchard’s career got off to a strong start indeed. In 2005, her early career really began with full force. It was in this year that she participated in her first Open tournament – a huge milestone for any tennis player. It was the tournament Open Super 12 in Auray, France which served as her first venture into the world of professional tennis. And it was not a bad start. Only a few years later, at the age of fifteen, she won her first tournament. The tournament in question was the Canadian under-18 indoor championship in Toronto. This was no small feat for someone of her relatively young age, and another sure sign of her inevitable rise. However, this was not the only good omen to arise for her that year. She also won her first professional main draw match in Italy. In order to achieve that, she had to defeat Frederica Grazioso, at the time ranked number 798 in the world. Not bad for a fifteen-year-old! What’s more, she only had to wait another year before enjoying her next big win. This one was the Pan American Closed ITF Championships, not as prestigious as the previous ones, but still a huge win for someone of her junior age.
