Genie Bouchard's Debut Pickleball Fail: Worst Shot Compilation
There have been 3 major tennis stars who have made the transition to Pickleball...Jack Sock, Sam Querrey and Genie Bouchard (skill level in that order too). I saw posts online late 2022 alluding to the fact that she would make her debut appearance at the PPA Masters earlier this month [Jan 2024]. I assumed she would have practiced with top players and coaches before showing up, but apparently she thought her tennis skills would be enough preparation to jump in the fire with the pros. Take a look at some of the highlights I made from her doubles match with Tyler Loong 👇
I wish I could say these were fluke bad shots, but if you watched the whole thing like I did you can tell she did not belong there. You could tell Etta Wright and Pablo Tellez tried not to target her too much as they probably felt like they had an unfair advantage. It got to the point where Loong played at the kitchen by himself and Genie stayed in the back court in single file fashion.
She signed with the PPA back in September 2023, and I'm confident this was more of a publicity stunt to convert tennis fans over to Pickleball than it was actual competitive skill. The fans hoped for more but they ended up getting a gag reel. We will see how this unfolds with more training, but based on this first impression, I do not think she will become competitive anytime soon in Pickleball. I do admire the fact she tried something new, and she did say she had no expectations for his first tournament, which was a great mindset considering the outcome.
