As ruthless as she's glamorous, today she could be Wimbledon champ: Why Centre Court's Princess Eugenie fell out with Britain's golden girl
- Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, 20, will compete in Wimbledon singles final
- She and British player Laura Robson were best friends for ten years
- But the pair had fell out, reportedly about their former coach Nick Saviano
- Friendship deteriorated as Bouchard flew up the rankings ahead of Robson
- Bouchard said: 'I don't think the tennis tour is the place to have friends'
Sir John Betjeman may have rhapsodised about playing tennis with Joan Hunter Dunn, who had ‘the speed of a swallow, the grace of a boy’. But the modern tennis heroine has rather more weapons in her arsenal — and we are not just talking about ability on the court.
Eugenie Bouchard, 20 years old and Canadian, is gloriously blonde with perfectly regular, brilliantly white film-star teeth, a pair of oiled thighs that could crack walnuts, half a million fans on Facebook — and a Twitter profile which ranges from the flirtatious to the, frankly, provocative.
Indeed, the new face of women’s tennis — who will be fighting to be crowned Wimbledon champion today — likes to post pictures of herself lounging seductively in bikinis and pouting in fancy dress.
Happier times: Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard, 20, used to be inseparable from British player Laura Robson, pictured left - but there has been an acrimonious falling out between the pair
She is as much the queen of the selfie as the queen of the court. Canny, money-making and with an ambition and drive which make the rest of the tennis crowd — no offence Maria Sharapova — look like a bunch of shuffling amateurs.
Her smitten fans, known as the Genie Army, follow her around the globe and, in a mawkish display of puppy love, throw teddy bears on to the court, some with proposals of marriage attached.
Adorable though she may be, Eugenie can also be utterly ruthless — in a charming way — when it comes to fulfilling her role as champ-in-waiting.
For example, she was once best friends with British tennis hope Laura Robson, who is also 20. They met aged nine and were inseparable for a decade.
They were once so close that Canadian Bouchard stayed with Robson at her family home near the All England Club when they played there.
As teenagers they dined together every night during overseas tournaments and two years ago made a video featuring tennis stars — including Sharapova — performing Gangnam Style dance moves.
When asked yesterday whether the pair, pictured here in fancy dress, were still close, Bouchard, pictured left, said: 'No. I don't think so. I'm sure you guys can figure out that one... I'll leave it at that.'
As teenagers, Robson, left, and Bouchard, right, dined together every night during overseas tournamnets and two years ago they made a video featuring tennis stars - including Sharapova - performing Gangnam Style
But there has been an acrimonious falling out. Asked yesterday if they were still close, Bouchard responded bluntly: ‘No. I don’t think so,’ adding ‘I’m sure you guys can figure out that one . . . I’ll leave it at that.’
The rift is believed to be over Nick Saviano, the leading coach who runs the Florida tennis academy where they first met. While the pair previously shared his services, he now coaches Bouchard exclusively.
Their friendship has deteriorated further during the past year as Bouchard accelerated ahead of her former friend. She has climbed into the tennis top ranks, while Robson peaked when she reached the fourth round of last year’s Wimbledon, then missed this year’s championships with a wrist injury. She now languishes at 91 in the world rankings.
Tennis insiders say the girls no longer speak, let alone post pictures of themselves together on social networking sites as they once did so regularly.
But the duo, pictured in June last year at the pre-Wimbledon party, reportedly fell out after their joint coach Nick Saviano started to work with Bouchard exclusively
Before the French Open, Bouchard said she didn’t have a best friend: ‘I don’t think the tennis tour is the place to have friends. For me it’s all competition.’
Where her twin sister Beatrice is concerned, Eugenie says they are ‘opposites’ and ‘very different’. Beatrice, she adds, ‘retired from tennis aged six’, and they see little of each other as Eugenie criss-crosses the globe in search of sporting glory.
Beatrice, a student, is the older by six minutes. Speaking to reporters, she claimed to have a telepathic link with Eugenie and broke into a broad smile over her sister’s achievements. ‘Every day I am just in awe,’ she said. ‘I have seen everything she has missed out on in childhood and teenage years. She has sacrificed a lot to get where she is today.’
Eugenie has self-belief and focus by the bucketload. When she met tennis legend Chris Evert at an event in Singapore in January, she was far from over-awed.
Evert tweeted: ‘@GenieBouchard has informed me that there are more cameras focused on her . . .’
By the end of the day they were apparently friends, and Evert wrote: ‘Ok, spent the whole day with @GenieBouchard . Impressions: genuine, mature, determined, and really funny!!!’
Or, as she told a reporter that day, more bluntly: ‘She is as tough as nails.’
So who is Eugenie? Born on February 25, 1994, in Montreal, she is the product of a wealthy suburban upbringing. Her father Michel Bouchard, known as Mike, is an investment banker, and mum Julie LeClair is a great fan of the Royal Family — which is why she called her twin girls Eugenie and Beatrice.
‘When I was young my mum gave me a magazine with the two Princesses in it and I still keep it on my bedside table,’ Bouchard says.
Her younger brother is named William after Prince William and the eldest of the siblings is Charlotte, after Princess Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco.
Home was in the posh suburb of Westmount — in the same street as former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
The children were introduced to tennis at a young age, but Eugenie, then aged five, detested the ‘childish’ games involving hula hoops and balloons that were supposed to interest them in the sport.
The Canadian player, who is becoming the face of women's tennis has an army of fans dubbed 'The Genie Army', faces No 6 seed Petra Kvitova tomorrow in the women's singles final at Wimbledon
‘All of the kids, including my sister, loved the games, except me,’ she told the Canadian Globe and Mail newspaper. ‘I hated them, I just wanted to hit more balls and actually play tennis.
‘Eventually, I started playing three times a week, then took private lessons and played my first tournament aged eight. I loved it right away.’
Extraordinarily, this was when she decided that tennis was to be her life. ‘Nine is very young to decide what you want to do in life, but that is pretty much when I decided,’ she said.
When she was 12, Eugenie had the chance to move to Florida to train with coach Nick Saviano at his academy.
The whole family relocated to Florida from Montreal — and moved back a few years later, after Tennis Canada agreed to pay for an exclusive trainer for her in Montreal. She continues to train with Saviano in Florida for part of the year, and spends the rest of it on the tour, going home to Montreal for visits when she can.
Fancy dress: Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard, 20, right, pictured with her twin sister Beatrice in 'sexy policewomen' costume
Mike Bouchard — like the parents of champs Andre Agassi and Steffi Graff — has taken a hands-on approach to building his daughter’s sporting career, sometimes with excessive zeal.
Bouchard tried to claim thousands that he personally spent on his daughter’s dream in 2004, 2005 and 2006 as business losses against tax — but Canada’s tax service disallowed it.
An embarrassing episode perhaps, but Eugenie continued her march to tennis glory. She won Junior Wimbledon in 2012 and last year was named WTA tennis newcomer of the year. She reached the semis of the 2014 Australian Open in January and the 2014 French Open.
Her prize money to date stands at £1 million — her greater earnings come from endorsements, which so far include Nike and Coke, and she has been in Vogue and other fashion magazines. She is now being courted by watch manufacturers, jewellery designers, clothes labels and banks.
Sharapova, the best financially rewarded female athlete on the planet, netted £15 million last year with her deals with Tiffany, Omega, et al.
Eugenie’s agent, Sam Duvall, is tipping her to become the most famous player in the world.
‘She’s got the personality, she’s got the game, she’s got the looks,’ he said. ‘She speaks two languages [French and English] and the crossover appeal is great. Aussie fans love her, French fans love her.’
‘She understands that the better she plays tennis, the more money, the more marketable and the more famous she will be. But it’s all centred on the tennis.’
Nigel Currie, of sports agency Brand Rapport, agrees that Bouchard could unseat the glorious Sharapova as the game’s top earner.
Her use of social media already sets her apart and makes her all the more valuable as a commodity. She is, online at least, an unabashed flirt — posting a selfie with the actor Owen Wilson earlier this year; a picture of herself on her birthday, lying on her bed surrounded by flowers and birthday wishes; and one on Valentine’s day with a hand-drawn card: ‘From me, to me.’
All of which makes her fans love her even more. She is, though, apparently quietly going out with American ice hockey player Alex Galchenyuk, who plays for a Canadian team. Before that she was dating Australian tennis star Bernard Tomic.
She faces No 6 seed Petra Kvitova today as Canada’s first Grand Slam singles finalist at Wimbledon, and is brimming with confidence. ‘It’s not a surprise to me. I expect to be in these finals. I totally feel like I belong. I want to make my own history.’
As well as her own millions.
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