(Getty)
Twenty-year-old Eugenie “Genie” Bouchard is already one of the most accomplished women’s tennis players from Canada and one of the most popular players on the women’s pro tour.
Bouchard has now made it to three consecutive Grand Slam semifinals this year and advanced to the finals at Wimbledon before losing in straight sets to Petra Kvitova.
At the Australian Open she lost in the semifinals to Li Na and then fell to Maria Sharapova in the French Open.
Her play over the past two years has been an enormous source of pride for Canadians, who have flocked to her matches wearing “Genie Army” shirts and holding signs adorned with Bouchard’s name and the Canadian flag.
Here’s what you need to know about Bouchard:
1. She’s the First Canadian in History to Reach a Grand Slam Final
When Bouchard upset Ana Ivanovic to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open in January, she became just the second Canadian ever to advance that far in a Grand Slam tournament and the first to do so in 30 years.
The only other time a Canadian came so close to winning a Slam came in 1984, when Toronto’s Carling Bassett advanced to the semis at the U.S. Open.
Bouchard lost in straight sets to eventual champion Li Na in the semifinal, but opened plenty of eyes before exiting the tournament.
She entered the semifinals in the following Grand Slam, the 2014 French Open, but lost to Maria Sharapova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Bouchard is now going for the title at Wimbledon after advancing past the to the final in over Simone Halep in a 7-6, 6-2 sweep, marking the first Canadian player ever to do so. Watch video above to see her post match interview after advancing past the quarterfinals.
Don’t tell anyone! @Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/cBtvdu7fKg
— Eugenie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) June 21, 2014
2. She Has a Twin Sister Named Beatrice
(Instagram/beatricebouchard)
One of Bouchard’s biggest fans is her twin sister, Beatrice, who was in the stands last summer watching Eugenie beat Ivanovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
Beatrice is six minutes older than Eugenie, according to a profile in Australia’s Courier Mail.
According to the Courier Mail, Eugenie, Beatrice, their sister, Charloee, and their brother, William, are all named after prominent royals.
Genie and her twin sister Beatrice (six minutes older than the tennis princess) were named after Prince Andrew’s daughters. Their younger sister, Charloee, was named after Princess Caroline of Monaco’s daughter and to top it off the youngest of the Bouchard clan – William – was, of course, named after England’s next king.
3. She Grew up Idolizing Maria Sharapova
Bouchard’s favorite player growing up was another woman who gets a lot of attention for her looks but warrants the spotlight just as much because of her play: Maria Sharapova.
In the WTA video above, Bouchard talks about her admiration for Sharapova, who won Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 2004, when a young Bouchard was already playing in international tournaments.
The comparisons to Sharapova have picked up over the past year, and not just from male fans admiring Bouchard’s looks.
Even Bouchard’s agent, Sam Duvall, couldn’t resist comparing the two, telling the Sydney Morning Herald during the Aussie Open that he thinks his client can be even more marketable off the court than the superstar Russian.
Duvall told the Herald’s Michael Chammas:
I really think she has the ability to be more marketable than Maria. She speaks the two languages where the four grand slams are played. Maria was Genie’s idol when she was younger but now they’re competitors. But if Maria is the bar, Genie has the ability to exceed that bar.
She has to perform on the court to do that, and Genie knows that. Maria has won four slams. Her marketability, if she performs, I have to say is better than anyone on tour. She is the total package. It’s unbelievable how focused this girl is.
4. She’s Been Linked Romantically to Montreal Canadien Alex Galchenyuk
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Bouchard’s love life has been a subject of intrigue ever since her rise to prominence over the last two years. She was asked in an awkward post-match interview during the Australian Open who she’d date if she could pick between anyone in the worlds of sports or entertainment.
Her answer, after laughing and shaking her head, was another popular (but much more polarizing) Canadian: Justin Bieber.
Watch the video of the interview here:
A couple days later, Bieber seemed to acknowledge the interview when he tweeted at Bouchard. This ESPNW article mentions that Bieber was arrested several hours after sending the tweet on suspicion of DUI and drag racing in Miami.
ESPNW’s takeaway from the episode?
Moral of the story: YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER, GENIE. Please set your sights on Drake or Ryan Gosling or any Canadian male not named Justin Bieber.
But according to the website Fabwags.com, Bouchard has had her sights on someone else. (Though despite his profession and prominence in Canada, he’s actually from Wisconsin.) Fabwags says Bouchard has been rumored to be dating 20-year-old Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk, a rising star who played a key role in the Habs’ run through the NHL playoffs.
Neither Boucahrd nor Galchenyuk has confirmed the relationship.
Galchenyuk was the third overall pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft, and made an immediate impact for the Habs, who advanced to the Eastern Conference finals before being eliminated in six games by the New York Rangers on Thursday night.
Galchenyuk, who had 31 points in the regular season, has 3 in the postseason on 2 goals and 1 assist.
Bouchard, who grew up in the up-scale Montreal enclave of Westmount, was pictured at a Habs game in January wearing a home red Montreal sweater with the name “Genie” on the back.
#GenieArmy pic.twitter.com/E4cBYjBEI0 ^AH
— #NHL15Subban (@CanadiensMTL) January 21, 2014
5. She’s Good Friends With British Tennis Star Laura Robson’
Bouchard and Robson at a French Open training session in 2013. (Getty)
Bouchard is close friends with British star Laura Robinson, the top-rated Brit on the tour. The two have trained together in the past when both were coached by Nick Saviano. Saviano still coaches Bouchard, but Robson has since switched to Mauricio Hadad.
Robson, 20, is considered one of the most promising young players in the game, but is sitting out the French Open and is expected to sit out Wimbledon after having wrist surgery.
The two became YouTube sensations in 2012, when they recorded a viral video dancing to Gangnam Style while on tour in Bejing. The video even included an introduction from Sharapova and appearances by fellow pros Fernando Verdasco, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Samantha Stosur and Heather Watson. Watch it here:
