'It's exhausting': Horror response to Eugenie Bouchard's bikini photos
Eugenie Bouchard says she’s stopped posting bikini photos on social media because of the nasty backlash she receives from fans.
Currently ranked No.330 in the world, the Canadian star is one of the most-criticised players in tennis.
‘SO SPECIAL’: Fans erupt over Williams sisters development
GOING AHEAD: Aus Open's plan for 400,000 fans amid virus crisis
After bursting onto the scene and making it was high as World No.5 in 2014, Bouchard has struggled for consistency and seen her ranking plummet.
She made the Wimbledon final in 2014, as well as the semis at the French and Australian Opens the same year.
However her appearances at grand slam level have been few and far between in recent times.
The most common explanation from fans is that she spends too much time working on her social media following than her tennis game.
But according to Bouchard that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I just don’t value the opinions of people who are out there just judging what I put out there,” Bouchard said in an interview with tennis.com recently.
“And I really try to refrain from posting bikini pictures, I really do. Apparently if you post that, it means you don’t play tennis or something.
“It’s influenced a little bit how I act. Maybe I’m just getting more mature and I’m like, ‘Look, I’m not going to post butt pictures every day.”
Eugenie Bouchard’s message to the haters
The 26-year-old said she’s learned to live with the criticism and tries to block out the haters.
“I’ve been through the whole spectrum of people loving you. When everything’s going great, people love you. When everything’s going bad, people hate you,” she said.
“I’ve been through that wave so many times. It just sucks. People think social media is an exact representation of your day when it’s not.
“I can go running for eight hours then go to dinner and post a selfie and people think I just went to dinner. People need to realise it’s only what people choose to show, that’s what’s out there.
“I went through the whole spectrum of wanting to post, not wanting to post, being scared, being like, ‘eff all of you guys, I’m going to still live my life’.
“I just don’t even care anymore, it’s just exhausting.”
However Bouchard, who boasts an impressive following of 2.1 million fans on Instagram, admitted her social media prescence is a huge drawcard for sponsors.
“One-hundred percent [it has helped with sponsorship],” she said.
“The number one question brands ask is, ‘what’s the following?’ It’s all about that… It’s a way of valuing people, I guess, which is superficial in a way, we’re all human, but it’s a way to put a number on people.”
Bouchard makes stellar return to WTA tour
Bouchard is currently competing at the Prague Open where she rolled to a 6-0, 6-3 upset over eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova in her first official event since January.
Given a wildcard into the WTA Tour event, Bouchard notched a convincing victory against the World No.40.
“I'm so grateful to have a job and just have this opportunity and kind of appreciate things more when they're taken away from you,” she said.
Bouchard saved all five break points she faced and won 72.7 per cent of her points on first serve.
Kudermetova won just 44.4 per cent of her points on first serve.
“I didn't know what to expect in terms of my level. I played better than I expected,” Bouchard added.
“I wanted to just be there mentally no matter what and I'm proud of how focused I stayed during this match.”
with Associated Press
