Eugenie Bouchard says she's given up striving for 'literal perfection': 'A big lesson I've learned in adulthood'
The 30-year-old Canadian athlete said her disciplined lifestyle comes with its downsides in a new interview.
Eugenie Bouchard's career requires an impressive amount of dedication — and sacrifice. In a new interview with Australian podcast host Linda Marigliano, the Canadian tennis-turned-pickleball player gave insight into her struggles as a perfectionist and how her busy career on the court and in front of the camera has made it difficult to maintain relationships. Here's everything we learned from her appearance on "Linda Marigliano's Tough Love" podcast.
Bouchard was born a perfectionist
The 30-year-old Montreal-born athlete told Marigliano that her perfectionist tendencies were on display at an early age. Bouchard, who has a twin sister named Beatrice, said her parents would often remark on her commitment to her studies and determination to achieve perfect grades. Both on and off the court, Bouchard grew up pushing herself in all aspects of her life — but admits perfectionism can have its downsides.
"It's this motivation, this discipline, to always be the best version of yourself. I think when it goes wrong is when you expect literal perfection, which is just not attainable," she said. "And that's something, a big lesson I've learned in my adulthood in terms of, in all aspects of life, but especially career-wise and I would say relationship-wise as well. You just got to be aware that it's not like perfection doesn't exist."
Perfectionism and tennis? Not always a match made in heaven
It's no secret that tennis is both a physical and psychological sport. As the only person on the court, Bouchard is the only person who can celebrate every win and loss.
"Tennis, there's a hundred points a match and they're every minute, every 30 seconds, every minute, and you're either up or you're down. So you are literally riding this roller coaster of emotions all by yourself. And that's why I think it's the toughest sport," Bouchard said.
Even though players win matches, only one person can win the tournament. Constantly winning and losing has forced Bouchard to develop "a thick skin" and become a more resilient person.
"When I was younger, at times, I would really take losses very hard," she said. "I would lock myself up in my hotel room and not leave for two days and be like, I don't deserve to go have dinner with my friends right now. Like I'm going to just suffer and kind of stay away from the world and hide and like suffer in silence and just kind of feel the pain.”
Accepting praise is difficult
Although she has millions of fans, Bouchard admitted her perfectionism makes it difficult for her to accept and digest praise.
"It's almost like I would rather the criticism as opposed to the compliments because it's what I like thrive on," she explained to Marigliano. "I love improving. I love trying to get better. I'm used to it with coaching throughout the years. It's like they always tell you what you can improve on. And I'm just used to that. And compliments kind of, you know, I don't even, I disregard them almost.”
Bouchard's career makes it difficult to maintain relationships
As a tennis and pickleball player and an on-air correspondent for the Tennis Channel, Bouchard's career provides its own set of obstacles for her partners.
"Every relationship is long distance, there's no other way around it," she explained. In the past, Bouchard has dated "more athletes" but said people in the public eye help with some of her trust issues because "they have something to lose" and can relate to her on another level.
Acknowledging the sacrifices of her career
Growing up, Bouchard often had to sacrifice having a "normal childhood" to pursue her tennis career. She said it wasn't uncommon for her to miss out on celebrating Christmas with her family, going to prom or being able to celebrate birthdays with friends. Luckily, her twin sister acted as the branch between her two worlds, and allowed her to slip back into the fold with her peers.
Bouchard, who is one of four children, said the sacrifices made for her career came at a cost.
“I moved to Florida when I was 12 years old. My parents moved my siblings down for a handful of years so that we could all be together," she said. "They totally resented me for that and called me the chosen one, you know, my family's changing things for me. ... And so everyone sacrificed, but of course I did the most. And not complaining. I'm so grateful for how it turned out, but I just imagine people who sacrifice that much and maybe don't achieve that success, that must be really hard to accept.”
Feeling pressure as a female athlete
Bouchard was careful when discussing the level of attention put on male athletes versus female — particularly when it comes to looks and personal life.
“Look, we tennis players look cute when they play tennis, wearing short skirts and wearing cute outfits," she said. "And I love fashion and I love feeling good, like feeling like I look good, feeling cute. ... And it helps for, you know, marketing and endorsement deals and things like that. So there's a lot of benefits to kind of being looked at in that way. But it can also take away from success and results and like your job."
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