The abilities of a former World No. 5 tennis player, who’s still relatively young (30) and fine physically, should transfer well to the pickleball court. But to hear Genie Bouchard tell it, it might’ve been better if she’d had no tennis background at all before entering her new world of professional pickleball.“For 25 years, I was taught that a short, soft ball was bad,” she says. “Suddenly you get to pickleball and it’s the shot you want to master. That was the biggest shock to me.”The Montreal native, who has lived in Miami the past 10 years, wraps up her first full year of pro pickling with this week’s Daytona Beach Open, Thursday through Sunday at Pictona in Holly Hill. She’ll compete in all three pro divisions — singles, doubles (with Layne Sleeth) and mixed doubles (with Mota Alhouni).TOO BIG FOR THE PANThe fish of a lifetime, and at 92 that's saying somethingBouchard will be looking to end 2024 on a positive note and, in singles anyway, get above water on the season-long stat line. She’s 15-17 overall in singles this year and 7-17 in both forms of doubles. In PPA Tour standings, she's 19th in singles, 35th in mixed doubles and 45th in doubles.While such numbers might appear rather humble for a one-time Wimbledon finalist, there’s perspective offered.“I was 0-9 in my first three tournaments,” Bouchard said by phone this past week. “My first match win, finally, came in April. “Before really knowing about it, I assumed, coming from tennis, I’d be good right away. That was definitely not the case.”A decade ago, Bouchard was a budding tennis superstar So far, a small handful of formerly world ranked tennis players have transitioned to pro pickleball — Jack Sock, Sam Querrey and Tina Pisnik among them. “But most of the pro pickleball players have some sort of tennis background,” Bouchard says. None, however, were ever ranked fifth in the world singles rankings. Bouchard got there in 2014, the year she reached the semifinals of year’s first two majors (Australian and French Opens) and the finals of the next — Wimbledon, where she lost that final to Petra Kvitova.She remained a fixture in the majors for another five years before slumps and injuries eventually made her a part-time player on the pro tour, though a modeling session for the 2017 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition kept her profile high. She played a few events this year and hopes to do so again in 2025 between PPA Tour stints.“I love tennis. It’s what I love the most, what I’ve done since I was 5 years old,” she says. “It’s something I didn’t want to give up yet. Every time I go back to tennis, I just love the feeling of hitting and enjoy it so, so much.”Tennis allows her to stick to the familiar — roaming the baseline and unleashing hard forehands and backhands alike, awaiting an opponent’s weak groundstroke to provide a chance to pounce. In other words, a near reversal of the pickleball strategy.“I know I have great athleticism, I know I have great hand-eye coordination,” Bouchard says. “And so everyone around me, including myself, said it’s just a matter of time, you just have to put in the hours.”She visited the PPA headquarters in Dallas and trained with various instructors, learning more about life at the mid-court kitchen lines, where mastery of the all-important dink shot brings great advantage.“I know I can pick things up. I’m a quick learner,” she says. “It’s not so far off from tennis that I’m completely out of my league. It was a little rough at the beginning, but we knew I could get there.”Adjusting the expectationsBouchard first gripped a pickleball paddle in 2021, at a friend’s house in Miami.“It was a tennis court. but we put tape down to make the pickleball lines,” she says. “We played for fun on a day off. I was like, ‘OK, this is fun, but I like tennis more and I’m better at tennis.’ It also scared me that it might mess up my tennis, so I made a point to not play too much. The technique is quite different.”Over time, she started playing more and more, and in 2023 decided to start playing professional tournaments and prepare for the full 2024 PPA season.She might’ve prepared, but she wasn’t fully prepared.“I just didn’t realize how good the professionals were on the pro tour,” she says. “I thought, ‘this is a real professional league here, this isn’t a joke.’ I quickly had to practice as much as possible, get as many tournaments and matches in, kinda learn as I go and try to play catch-up.“I had higher expectations, but as soon as I got to my first tournament and saw how good everybody was, my expectations went right back down to the ground. It’s the touch game, the dinks, the game at the kitchen line, all of that which I’ve not done. So for me, I realized quickly these are really great players, real professionals. I knew then it’d be tough.”Yes, physically easier than tennis, but now try singlesPickleball’s rapid growth in recent years isn’t just about poaching tennis players who are looking for a smaller court and its reduced physical challenge. Many among the rank and file at the neighborhood courts have zero to little tennis background.But many do. They quickly learn that doubles pickleball – and the vast majority of play is doubles – in a way resembles playing on a giant ping-pong table instead of a scaled-down tennis court.“You also have a similar-sized paddle and a plastic ball,” Bouchard says. Indoors or during non-summer months, you can play a game or two before breaking any real sweat. But singles pickleball … that’s a whole different game and, Bouchard learned, a whole different physical challenge.“Pickleball is physically easier than tennis, but if you play singles, that’s tough,” she says. “Yes, you have a smaller court, but you have a shorter paddle, and you have a ball that doesn’t bounce to you, it just sits there and you have to go to it. You have to move more. I try to explain this to people.“This year at Las Vegas, I played four singles matches in one day, and I was dead. “You never do that in tennis. The pickleball matches are shorter, sure, but you get off the court and soon you have to go back on, and I soon realized, ‘this isn’t easy.’”Daytona Beach Open tournament detailsWhat: PPA Tour event featuring professional play but also an amateur tournament with more than 1,000 players.Where: Pictona in Holly Hill.When: Amateur play begins Wednesday, pro tournament runs Thursday through Sunday.Pro format: Thursday singles; Friday mixed doubles; Saturday doubles; Sunday finals.More info: PPAtour.com or Pictona.org.

Former Wimbledon finalist Genie Bouchard wrapping up first year of pro pickleball this week

The abilities of a former World No. 5 tennis player, who’s still relatively young (30) and fine physically, should transfer well to the pickleball court. But to hear Genie Bouchard tell it, it might’ve been better if she’d had no tennis background at all before entering her new world of professional pickleball. “For 25 years, […]

The abilities of a former World No. 5 tennis player, who’s still relatively young (30) and fine physically, should transfer well to the pickleball court.

But to hear Genie Bouchard tell it, it might’ve been better if she’d had no tennis background at all before entering her new world of professional pickleball.

“For 25 years, I was taught that a short, soft ball was bad,” she says. “Suddenly you get to pickleball and it’s the shot you want to master. That was the biggest shock to me.”

The Montreal native, who has lived in Miami the past 10 years, wraps up her first full year of pro pickling with this week’s Daytona Beach Open, Thursday through Sunday at Pictona in Holly Hill. She’ll compete in all three pro divisions — singles, doubles (with Layne Sleeth) and mixed doubles (with Mota Alhouni).

TOO BIG FOR THE PANThe fish of a lifetime, and at 92 that’s saying something

Genie Bouchard completes her first full year of pro pickleball this week in the PPA Tour's Daytona Beach Open at Pictona in Holly Hill.

Bouchard will be looking to end 2024 on a positive note and, in singles anyway, get above water on the season-long stat line. She’s 15-17 overall in singles this year and 7-17 in both forms of doubles. In PPA Tour standings, she’s 19th in singles, 35th in mixed doubles and 45th in doubles.

While such numbers might appear rather humble for a one-time Wimbledon finalist, there’s perspective offered.

“I was 0-9 in my first three tournaments,” Bouchard said by phone this past week. “My first match win, finally, came in April. “Before really knowing about it, I assumed, coming from tennis, I’d be good right away. That was definitely not the case.”

A decade ago, Bouchard was a budding tennis superstar

So far, a small handful of formerly world ranked tennis players have transitioned to pro pickleball — Jack Sock, Sam Querrey and Tina Pisnik among them.

“But most of the pro pickleball players have some sort of tennis background,” Bouchard says.

None, however, were ever ranked fifth in the world singles rankings. Bouchard got there in 2014, the year she reached the semifinals of year’s first two majors (Australian and French Opens) and the finals of the next — Wimbledon, where she lost that final to Petra Kvitova.

She remained a fixture in the majors for another five years before slumps and injuries eventually made her a part-time player on the pro tour, though a modeling session for the 2017 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition kept her profile high. She played a few events this year and hopes to do so again in 2025 between PPA Tour stints.

“I love tennis. It’s what I love the most, what I’ve done since I was 5 years old,” she says. “It’s something I didn’t want to give up yet. Every time I go back to tennis, I just love the feeling of hitting and enjoy it so, so much.”

Tennis allows her to stick to the familiar — roaming the baseline and unleashing hard forehands and backhands alike, awaiting an opponent’s weak groundstroke to provide a chance to pounce. In other words, a near reversal of the pickleball strategy.

“I know I have great athleticism, I know I have great hand-eye coordination,” Bouchard says. “And so everyone around me, including myself, said it’s just a matter of time, you just have to put in the hours.”

She visited the PPA headquarters in Dallas and trained with various instructors, learning more about life at the mid-court kitchen lines, where mastery of the all-important dink shot brings great advantage.

“I know I can pick things up. I’m a quick learner,” she says. “It’s not so far off from tennis that I’m completely out of my league. It was a little rough at the beginning, but we knew I could get there.”

Adjusting the expectations

Bouchard first gripped a pickleball paddle in 2021, at a friend’s house in Miami.

“It was a tennis court. but we put tape down to make the pickleball lines,” she says. “We played for fun on a day off. I was like, ‘OK, this is fun, but I like tennis more and I’m better at tennis.’ It also scared me that it might mess up my tennis, so I made a point to not play too much. The technique is quite different.”

Over time, she started playing more and more, and in 2023 decided to start playing professional tournaments and prepare for the full 2024 PPA season.

She might’ve prepared, but she wasn’t fully prepared.

“I just didn’t realize how good the professionals were on the pro tour,” she says. “I thought, ‘this is a real professional league here, this isn’t a joke.’ I quickly had to practice as much as possible, get as many tournaments and matches in, kinda learn as I go and try to play catch-up.

“I had higher expectations, but as soon as I got to my first tournament and saw how good everybody was, my expectations went right back down to the ground. It’s the touch game, the dinks, the game at the kitchen line, all of that which I’ve not done. So for me, I realized quickly these are really great players, real professionals. I knew then it’d be tough.”

Yes, physically easier than tennis, but now try singles

Pickleball’s rapid growth in recent years isn’t just about poaching tennis players who are looking for a smaller court and its reduced physical challenge. Many among the rank and file at the neighborhood courts have zero to little tennis background.

But many do. They quickly learn that doubles pickleball – and the vast majority of play is doubles – in a way resembles playing on a giant ping-pong table instead of a scaled-down tennis court.

“You also have a similar-sized paddle and a plastic ball,” Bouchard says.

Indoors or during non-summer months, you can play a game or two before breaking any real sweat.

But singles pickleball … that’s a whole different game and, Bouchard learned, a whole different physical challenge.

“Pickleball is physically easier than tennis, but if you play singles, that’s tough,” she says. “Yes, you have a smaller court, but you have a shorter paddle, and you have a ball that doesn’t bounce to you, it just sits there and you have to go to it. You have to move more. I try to explain this to people.

“This year at Las Vegas, I played four singles matches in one day, and I was dead. “You never do that in tennis. The pickleball matches are shorter, sure, but you get off the court and soon you have to go back on, and I soon realized, ‘this isn’t easy.’”