Genie Bouchard eyes week of PPA pickleball play at Daytona Beach Open – Daytona Beach News-Journal

Barring the unexpected — not always a given, as will be explained — Genie Bouchard will close out her second full season of professional pickleball the way she was supposed to close out her first.
With more than 1,300 amateurs competing on the surrounding courts, Bouchard will join other PPA Tour pros competing this week in the year-ending Daytona Beach Open at Pictona in Holly Hill.
“It’s really great to be part of something that’s growing so much, this thing that’s taken over the country,” said Bouchard, who opens the tournament with singles play today, with mixed doubles and doubles Thursday and Friday — semifinals and finals are Saturday and Sunday.
A year ago, the former tennis star (world No. 5, 2014 Wimbledon finalist) had similar plans, but they disappeared in the blink of an eye — or the shank of an eye, to be more precise. During a practice session a couple days before the 2024 Daytona Beach Open, a pickleball deflected off the paddle of her doubles partner and caught her directly in the left eye.
A trip to urgent care revealed a scratched cornea, and she was forced to pull out of the tournament. Did Bouchard suddenly become a practicing advocate for eye protection on the pickleball courts, where close-range, rapid-fire rallies happen often at the higher levels of play?
Yes, of course. But no, not completely.
“I always thought eye-protection on the court looked pretty dorky. But after that, of course, I was terrified so I started wearing it,” she said. 
But the 31-year-old Canada native immediately realized an issue with the protective accessory. The frames of the eyewear enter the field of vision, and for some players more than others, it’s overly irritating. 
“The frame, for me, hinders my view,” Bouchard said. “I never played with glasses in tennis. I know some players do but I was never that person. It makes me unable to see everything.
“So I started wearing it for practice but not for matches. For me, I find that little accidents happen more frequently in practice, because people are a little less focused or a touch lackadaisical. Spraining your ankle, and things like that, happen more often on the practice courts. So I wear them in practice but not in the match.”
While hovering around No. 50 in doubles and mixed doubles in the PPA Tour’s 2025 standings, Bouchard has cracked the top 10 in singles and currently sits at No. 9. Like all others in the top 10, Bouchard is looking way up at longtime No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters, who simply never loses a singles match.
But Bouchard, who officially retired from the WTA tennis tour this past summer, is happy with her progress, especially in singles, which has included occasionally advancing beyond the early rounds and into the weekend semis and finals.
“I’ve had some really good wins, made it to some Sundays that weren’t for third place,” Bouchard said. “Really proud of that. Had some good wins against great players.
“There’s still a huge distance between No. 1 and the rest of the pack, but I feel I’m in the mix with the rest of the pack. It’s been fun challenging myself and learning a new sport.”
As for doubles play, Bouchard says her nagging issue is a familiar one for many former tennis players who find the “softball” dinking play near the net counter-intuitive. For baseball pitchers, it’s avoiding the “hanging curveball.” In pickleball, it’s keeping the ball in a low place at a proper angle, where your opponent can’t take advantage of an opportunity.
It often falls into the easier-said-than-done category.
“With the quality of dinks, you know what to do, it’s just a matter of doing it consistently,” she said. “The good players just hit good quality dinks more often. The players who are a tier below hit good quality dinks, but then every once in a while, it pops up a little bit. I’m still in that category, where I need to improve a little bit.
“The margin for error is really small. You have to hit it in that sweet-spot window. Tennis is not like that. If you hit a ball a little off, it doesn’t matter. But the pickleball court is so small, every inch really matters, so you have to be more precise.”
Occasional struggles aside, Bouchard hasn’t just turned to pickleball to continue her competitive career while being paid to do so. She’s also become a big believer in the game’s ongoing benefits for players at all levels.
“It’s a nice outlet to keep the competitive aspect going,” she said. “Some other tennis players I speak to are considering it themselves. But I think it’s also good for the community. It’s better to have someone out on the pickleball court instead of on the couch at home. 
“Physical health, mental health … people can socialize with it as well. I think it creates a healthier community.”
More than 1,300 amateurs will compete through Sunday at the 49-court Pictona complex in Holly Hill. The Grandstand and Championship Courts will be reserved for PPA Tour play. Here’s the schedule for the professionals competing in the Florida Dairy Farmers Daytona Beach Open:
Wednesday: Singles beginning at 9 a.m. (TV: Pickleball TV, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
Thursday: Mixed doubles beginning at 10 a.m. (Pickleball TV, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
Friday: Men’s and women’s doubles beginning at 10 a.m. (Tennis Channel, 3:30-6:30 p.m.; Pickleball TV, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
Saturday: Semifinals in all divisions beginning at 10 a.m. (Tennis Channel, 3:30-6:30 p.m.; Pickleball TV, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
Sunday: Finals and bronze matches in all divisions beginning at 9 a.m. (Tennis Channel, 2:30-5 p.m.; Pickleball TV, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
More info: PPAtour.com.

source