Eugenie Bouchard recently echoed Andy Roddick’s views on the subject of amateur tennis players facing ATP and WTA-level pros in competitive matches. Bouchard called anyone who believes they can take on a player ranked in the top rungs of the game ‘delusional’.
A US-based organization called Research Without Barriers recently surveyed the local public about whether they believed they could win a game against a tennis pro. The survey was conducted in June earlier this year, using samples collected from 2,403 tennis player across the United States, and was published on the Action Network.
Shockingly, 71% of the Americans surveyed felt that they could match a tennis pro, with 82% and 47% of the targetted audience being in the age range of 18-24 and 55-and-above respectively.
Tagging a related clip from the Tennis Chanel, Bouchard reacted to the survey on Twitter.
“People are so delusional it’s crazy,” Eugenie Bouchard tweeted.
The results of the survey were earlier lambasted by Andy Roddick, who drove home his point by narrating a story about the time he took on an amateur during his heyday. The former World No. 1 also claimed he himself wouldn’t fancy his chances against a top pro like Novak Djokovic.
“I played Ohio University Intramural champion back in ’05 or ’06 because the guy was writing a book about what would be needed to compete with a pro, and I beat him with a frying pan! And it’s not like I’m the most talented guy,” Roddick said during a Tennis Channel segment.
“If you play in your club and didn’t play Divison 1 tennis, you can’t win a game off Novak Djokovic, stop it! I’m sitting here as a 40-year-old, I won 32 times on tour, and I cannot win a game off of Novak Djokovic right now, and you can’t either,” he added.
Roddick even gave his views on whether players ranked 800th or below in the ATP & WTA rankings could take on a tour mainstay.
“Sure, 800 in the world is great but you’re 700 spots away from playing in a Major. You better get from 800 to 200 real quick,” Roddick remarked.
Eugenie Bouchard was the runner-up at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships
Eugenie Bouchard was the runner-up at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships
Eugenie Bouchard herself struggled against WTA tour players when her ranking severely dipped last year. The former Wimbledon finalist failed to qualify for the 2022 US Open as an unranked player, and had a negative win-loss record in tour matches when she was ranked outside the top 500.
However, Bouchard has had a decent start to her 2023 season, accumulating a respectable 9-9 record. She reached the quarterfinals of the Firenze Ladies Open and also the Round-of-64 at the WTA 1000 event in Madrid.
At the moment, Bouchard is ranked 219th in the world. She will try to qualify for this year’s US Open later this month.
