Eugenie Bouchard quits tennis for pickleball after horror rankings slide

Former world No. 5 Eugenie Bouchard has divided opinions in tennis after announcing a truly left-field career move following years of struggles.

Eugenie Bouchard has dumped tennis for pickleball.

And upset fans of the “hottest tennis player ever” are up in arms at her shock decision, The Sun reports.

Pickleball chiefs are calling the ex-world No. 5’s switch to their professional circuit “one of the biggest signings of the year”.

But the 2014 Wimbledon finalist, 29, has faced a volley of agonised comments online.

Many of Bouchard’s 2.4 million Instagram followers bemoaned the “sad moment” - as she moved careers to what one fan called “giant ping-pong”.

But others argued the Canadian’s fall down the tennis rankings to No. 215 means she will be no great loss to the more traditional sport.

One observer had a subtle swipe by posting: “Good luck to Genie. It’s ok for ex-tennis players to make a living in a less demanding sport.”

Eugenie Bouchard has been drastically sliding down the tennis rankings. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Another said: “Man wow it really has gone downhill for Genie from WTA to pickleball.”

A third groaned: “I just can’t get onboard the Pickleball train. I find it like watching giants on a mini tennis court. Not a fan.”

Bouchard hasn’t officially turned her back on tennis for good - but she’s signed to Pickleball from next year.

She follows ex-world No. 8 men’s tennis player Jack Sock, who made the change in sports after the US Open.

And if Sock’s appeal couldn’t be guaranteed for Pickleball, it surely can now - after the addition of “one of the prettiest ladies on Earth”.

Eugenie Bouchard is switching to pickleball. Picture: Instagram

Bouchard will bring star power to the growing sport. Picture: Instagram

Bouchard’s announcement comes as Major League Pickleball (MLP) announced its expansion to Australia.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the US with over 36 million players, and the has high-profile team owners including Nick Kyrgios, Naomi Osaka, and LeBron James.

According to the MLP, the sport is exploding in popularity in Australia with an estimated 25,000 Australians already playing.

Pacific Pickleball’s 33 elite local players across teams in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast will now play under the new Major League Pickleball Australia banner.

MLP Australia will begin on September 8 in Brisbane before Melbourne and the Sydney events later in the year, with close to a million dollars in cash prizes over the next year.

- This article first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.

- with news.com.au