Popular tennis player Eugenie Bouchard played her first career match in the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) on Wednesday, but things didn't go as planned for the Quebec native.
Pickleball, this racket sport that is becoming increasingly popular around the world, is the 29-year-old athlete and influencer's new passion. She received a pass to the Palm Springs Masters from organizers.
• Also read: See Eugenie Bouchard in pickleball action
In her first singles duel in the big leagues she met Ekaterina Biakina, whom she clearly defeated in two sets 11:1 and 11:7.
Bouchard kept a smile on his face despite his opponent's good shots and suffered in the first set before recovering somewhat in the second set. The Montrealer never had the lead, but narrowly got to 7-6.
For those curious, the PPA posted a video of “Genie's” best plays on Instagram and his full game is available on the league's YouTube channel.
Bouchard also lost in the mixed doubles against American Tyler Loong: they lost 11:5 and 11:2 on Thursday. It's not over for her at the Californian event as she will also play doubles alongside former Taiwanese tennis player Wang Chao-Yi.