The PPA Tour is starting to expand as pickleball becomes the interest of many. This prompted new changes in parks like additional pace to accommodate the sport next to tennis courts. Another huge change is the amount of fans that are getting entertained by professional pickleball. Some WTA and ATP names are even making their transition into the leagues just like Genie Bouchard after her US Open effort against Dayana Yastremska.
Genie Bouchard is heading into the PPA Tour for 2024. The 29-year-old WTA player decided to call it a career in tennis. She will start playing professional pickleball instead as announced by the league.
With one of the biggest signings of the year ✍️ @geniebouchard, professional tennis star with a WTA #5 career high in singles, joins the PPA Tour in 2024! 👏 pic.twitter.com/7lSNCDkQfT
— Carvana PPA Tour (@PPAtour) September 7, 2023
Notably, she lost in three sets against Dayana Yastremska at the qualifiers for the US Open. It was her fifth year of not making it into the hard court major which could have been a factor in her decision. An injury also caused her to miss significant time on the courts. This meant that her only notable tournament appearance in the past four seasons has been in the 2020 French Open.
There has been a significant decline in her performance after her injury. Genie Bouchard had been in the Wimbledon finals in 2014. She also got a career-high number-five world ranking during her stint. But, changes were always going to come for her. As of now, she joins ATP's Jack Sock as one of the prominent figures in tennis to have joined the PPA. Will we see a doubles team-up between Soch and Genie Bouchard come the next tour?