Tennis pro Genie Bouchard got a chance to experience the fresh air and beautiful scenery in Aspen, Colorado. Bouchard, 29, shared a reel of herself wearing gray workout pants and a black jacket, hiking in the cold outdoors. “Aspen in fall,” she captioned the post. “The best,” commented boyfriend Jack Brinkley-Cook. Bouchard is just one of many tennis players making the jump to pickleball—here’s what her training looks like, and what’s next for the athlete.
Bouchard is a member of the Professional Pickleball Association for the 2024 season, and admits to being nervous. “I’m like that kid going to a new school who goes to the cafeteria and doesn’t have any friends or know where anything is,” she told ESPN. “I’m completely nervous. I’m a wreck. I am nervous for playing, of course, because this is so new to me. But beyond that, I’m definitely anxious a little bit and wondering what it’s going to be like walking around a tournament or a locker room… I have zero expectations at this point. I want to get my bearings. I want to just not embarrass myself, maybe that’s a good goal, and just get the hang of things on court and off. I want to have fun, try my best and really just not be too hard on myself.”
Ever the perfectionist, Bouchard obsessed about her Pickleball form until she was told to relax. “I’m like, ‘Is my form good? Is this good? Is that good?” she told ESPN. “What drill should we work on for this shot?’ I was going overboard, and this guy was like, ‘Whoa, you’re so unnecessarily detail-oriented about this.’ He literally told me to just go to a pickup game and just play and said that’s how I was going to improve the most.”
Bouchard lifts weights as part of her workout routine, and frequently posts pictures of her training on social media. “Weights before dates,” she captioned an Instagram picture of herself doing a strength training session at the gym. “When our bones are put under stress from the force of resistance training over a long period of time, they grow stronger and increase in density to withstand the extra load and force,” personal trainer Tom Mans tells The Independent. “Resistance training increases bone density and therefore decreases the chances of women and men developing osteoporosis later on in life.”
Bouchard usually has eggs for breakfast. “Eggs are a good source of protein (both whites/yolk). They also contain heart-healthy unsaturated fats and are a great source of important nutrients, such as vitamin B6, B12 and vitamin D,” says Kurt Hong, MD, an internal medicine specialist at Keck Medicine of USC. “As with any food, the key here is consumption in moderation.”
Bouchard is a firm believer in the power of positive thought. “I always try to remind myself that things can happen when you least expect them to,” she told SELF. “You just have to keep working hard and suddenly things will click. That’s the experience that I’ve had in my career. I trust that if I’m doing the right things and I’m on the right path, even if times are tough, eventually I’ll reach my goal.”