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Sydney International: Eugenie Bouchard laments the ugly side of beauty

Michael Chammas

Eugenie Bouchard has seen the ugly side of beauty.

She's received death threats from obsessed fans and felt the jealousy from within the tour from those who envy the image she has worked to build – all while shutting herself off from those around her in an attempt to achieve her dreams.

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"It's lonely to become a champion," she says without regret for the sacrifices she has made. "It's lonely to be successful."

Bouchard has heard it all: Canadian beauty; tennis glamour girl; most marketable athlete on the planet.

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All are commonly used to describe the 22-year-old from Montreal, who has polarised opinion since bursting on to the scene at the Australian Open as a teenager.

She has been heavily criticised for it, too, often having her beauty thrown back at her as a reason why she has struggled to live up to the hype in recent years.

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The magazines are lining up to put her on the cover. Fans are flocking just to get a glimpse of her practise. She's a sporting superstar whose charm and looks have presented her with more opportunities than her rivals.

"What's wrong with that?" Bouchard asks.

"If you can have results like I have had – right now I'm not having results, but I have had results – what's wrong with it? To get results and be known outside of the tennis world doing different shoots, be in magazines, to me I'm taking advantage of all the opportunities I have because of all the hard work I put in.

"For sure, people are jealous, but you have to see that as a backhanded compliment. Having all the haters, it means you've actually achieved something in life. As for the players on tour, I try to stay in my bubble and do my own thing. But I'm not going to let other people's thoughts or judgments put limitations on me.

"For me, tennis is my No.1 priority. People say, 'you do more photo shoots than practise'. I probably do less photo shoots than other players on tour. I just get the hate for it, I get the press for it. People are going to hate no matter what. I'm going to do me, do my life and that's it."

Bouchard prides herself on interacting with her fans. But she admits making friends on tour with other players isn't on the agenda.

"I'm not here to socialise [with players]," Bouchard says.

"I'm friendly with my co-workers on tour, but I don't really consider anyone a true real friend. I'd rather focus on my work when I'm on tour. It's a tough sacrifice, but the benefits are so great as well. No 22-year-old I know has the capabilities I have, has achieved as much as I have. With great sacrifice comes great benefit. It's completely worth it.

"If my career were to end tomorrow it would have all been worth it. Obviously I want my career to go another 10 years and I want to achieve my ultimate dreams and goals, but my life is so unique compared to any other normal kid my age. Even if I never win another match on tour it's still worth it because it's an unbelievable experience."

Focused: Bouchard is hoping 2017 will see a return to her stunning form from 2014.

Focused: Eugenie Bouchard is hoping 2017 will see a return to her stunning form from 2014. Photo: Chris Hyde

The Canadian has gathered a cult-like following and her commitment to engage with her fans has opened her up to those with not so good intentions.

"I've received death threats and things like that and have had some aggressive fans as well," she says.

"Unfortunately, that's part of it, but most of them are really nice and support me no matter what. Some cross the line a little bit, but I have people around me to look out for me. Unjustified hate and unintelligent hate, that disappoints me. For example, I'll practise six hours in a day and then go to the movies at night. What do I post on social media? I'll post about the movies because to me that's the cool part of my day.

"I practise every single day and that's my job. Eighty per cent of my day is about tennis, but I post about the 20 per cent I do something different and it's like 'why aren't you practicing?' I spent six hours on a tennis court today, but I didn't show any of you that. That unintelligent hate, that I just find disappointing."

Bouchard, who will look for her first win of 2017 at this week's Sydney International, has learnt to embrace the glamorous side of tennis.

She insists it's not a distraction, despite many linking her rise to stardom with her form slump.

For Bouchard, she struggled to live up to the lofty expectations that followed 2014 when she reached the semi-finals at the Australian and French opens as well as the final of Wimbledon.

"It wasn't the distractions that got to me," she says.

"It was the pressure and the expectations. The sudden fact that if I win it's normal, and if I lose it's a disaster. I try not to read about myself and I don't, but sometimes I'm forced to come face-to-face with when I talk to reporters and do press conferences because they ask 'do you think you're too focused on doing photo shoots' or 'oh, you've lost four games in a row, how do you feel about that?'

"That in a way made me realise what people were saying and I felt that put too much expectation on me. For me having that sudden target on my back that made my 2015 year really tough."

Having dropped from No.5 in the world in 2014 to No.46, that target has eased but the attention remains.

"That's my life," she says. "I embrace it."

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