EUGENIE BOUCHARD admits tennis is “great for sex appeal” as she looks to transcend the sport as a model.
The 2014 Wimbledon finalist, 30, was once ranked the fifth best tennis player in the world.
And she also reached two Grand Slam semi-finals before her career was beset by injuries.
Bouchard’s success saw her also enter the world of modelling, landing tasty endorsements with Coca-Cola and IMG.
The Canadian, who now dabbles in pickleball, reckons the fact she was a high-profile tennis star gave her modelling career true “sex appeal.”
And with her days in the sport now behind her, with Bouchard’s last tour-level tournament coming 10 months ago, the ace is ready to embrace her modelling side even more.
Bouchard, who has also branched out as a pundit, told Valeria Lipovetsky: “Tennis first of all is a great sport for that sex appeal side.
“We’re wearing short skirts, we’re wearing tank tops. It’s fun to turn on the TV and watch that.
“Right away I was able to get great marketing deals off the court. Being asked to be in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition a few times.
“Exploring that path was definitely on my to-do list. It’s definitely part of who I am because I think it’s great.
“Why keep myself in a box? Why not try to become bigger, or better, or transcend tennis, or explore other fields? Tennis the only thing I know, but it can’t be the only thing I’ll ever do in my life.
“So I found it very interesting to be in the magazines or do fashion stuff and see that I really enjoyed these things as well.”
Indeed, Bouchard admits she had done more modelling during her tennis heyday and has urged other female players to not be afraid of expanding their profiles that way.
She added: “I would’ve done more of it. Completely. Why stop myself? There’s things I said no to that I regret.
“Why stop myself from trying to be everything I can be? Maybe you wouldn’t have heard of me if I didn’t do some of my off-court stuff.
“And that is just increasing my fan base, my audience, which in turn helps me get better brand deals, better endorsements.
“Not just in a personal way for me, ‘ok I can actually make more money out of this’, but in a general sense, ‘ok we have someone who is maybe a casual fan who is going to come to the Miami Open to watch me play’.
“That’s good for tennis in general, for female tennis, for women’s sports, that’s good for everything.
“The more we can expand and broaden our reach the better it is, no matter in what way. So for anyone to possibly say anything about that to me is shocking.”
