Eugenie Bouchard has been garnering a lot of attention lately not just for her tennis skills in Wimbledon, but also for her off-court life.
The 20-year-old Canadian will be facing Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the Wimbledon finals on Saturday.
Bouchard is named after Princess Eugenie, while her twin is named after Princess Beatrice, the daughters of Prince Andrew. It turns out that their mother is a big fan of the royal family. "When I was young, my Mum gave me a magazine with the two princesses in it, and I still keep it on my bedside table, my brother is Prince William. I think they are just nice names that [my parents] liked."
Of her relationship with her sister, Bouchard said, "We keep in touch and she's a huge supporter. We're opposites but very close." Both girls started playing tennis at the tender age of five in Westmount, in suburban Montreal. But while her twin sister Beatrice quit the sport at age 6, Eugenie stayed on.
"I was always very determined, and to excel at this sport you have to be really disciplined and motivated," Eugenie said. "I asked my parents if I could play more so they put me in groups where there was more actual tennis and it went from there."
Her hard work and determination paid off, she was the Women's Tennis Associations's Newcomer of the Year, and she is the first Canadian to play in a major series final.
With excellent tennis skills, and superstar looks, plus a knack for using social media to her advantage, it's no wonder she has built up a worldwide fanbase who call themselves the Genie Army. These fans flock to her tournaments across the globe where they throw stuffed toys at her.
Bouchard has half a million fans on Facebook , and a 250,000 followers on Twitter, where she poses all sorts of photos of herself. Recently, Bouchard posted a photo of herself and her sister dressed as provocative police officers.
Recent reports have surfaced that the Canadian tennis star has had a rift with former best friend, British tennis star Laura Robson. The falling out between the friends has allegedly something to do with Nick Saviano, who is the coach of both girls.
Asked about her friendship with Robson, Bouchard has stated, "I don't think the tour is the place to have friends."
