"Long distance is just so hard": Eugenie Bouchard lays bare difficulties of dating as a tennis pro; urges colleagues NOT to date fellow players

Eugenie Bouchard recently opened up about the difficulties of dating as a tennis professional, pointing out how the inherent lifestyle of being a player with a 11-month season that is highly travel-oriented makes it hard to have a stable relationship.

Bouchard, 31 years old, announced last week that this will be the final season of her tennis career, which she will end at the Canadian Open later this month. This week, she is in action at the Citi DC Open, where she lost in the first round to Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste in women's doubles.

Speaking to Tennis.com during her time in Washington, the Canadian discussed the perils of dating as an athlete, which usually meant having a long-distance relationship. The alternative was to date a fellow tennis player -- an idea that Bouchard was vehemently against.

"With our lifestyle, it has to be long distance, and long distance is just so hard. I’ve had some relationships like that and they’ve been great, but it’s been hard to build a foundation and have stability—unless you want to date someone on the tour, which I highly recommend you don’t do," Eugenie Bouchard said.

Bouchard, who caught the attention of the world in 2017 when she took out a fan on a date after losing a Super Bowl, had a word of advice for Leylah Fernandez as well. Fernandez is set to go on her first date later this month at the Canadian Open, after extending an invitation to her fans on social media.

"I personally love interacting with fans and I think they appreciate that I do that. I believe it creates a fun atmosphere and community," Bouchard said. “I hope [Leylah Fernandez] vets the person beforehand; that’s what I did before my Twitter date. I did a background check on my guy, so as long as she does that, we’re all good. I hope she has a great time, and she’d better thank me for that idea,” she added.

Eugenie Bouchard: "I would get so much hate for doing anything other than tennis"

Wimbledon Championships Qualifying - Day 3 - Source: Getty

In an interview with the Times last year, Eugenie Bouchard had opened up about the harsh realities of being an athlete in the public eye. The Canadian lamented how it felt suffocating for her, with fans spewing hatred on her for doing anything "other than tennis."

At the same time, she was happy that she became a pioneer for other women tennis players in a way, showing them that it was perfectly fine to do what they wanted instead of remaining only in the tennis box.

"Back in the day, I felt like I was being shoved into a box, like you can't do anything besides tennis. I was like, tennis has given me opportunities to explore the fashion world, TV and all these other things. Why would I say no? We're talking about my life in its entirety here," Bouchard said. "I would get so much hate for doing anything other than tennis. It was a burden I would bear on my shoulders and it was really hard. At least it's more accepted now. Not that I was the only pioneer to do these things but I feel like I made it a little bit more normal," she added.

Bouchard will retire with one Grand Slam runner-up trophy to her name, which came at Wimbledon.

Edited by Shyam Kamal