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Eugenie Bouchard lays out truth of Maria Sharapova feud and says ‘it was real’

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Eugenie Bouchard lays out truth of Maria Sharapova feud and says ‘it was real’

Eugenie Bouchard was involved in a public spat with Maria Sharapova last year after the Canadian aimed a dig at the former world No. 1 following her first round victory at the Madrid Open

Eugenie Bouchard has opened up about her spat with Maria Sharapova – confessing that their rivalry is indeed “real”.

The Canadian tennis ace found herself embroiled in a verbal tussle with the four-time Grand Slam winner last year, following a sly jab at the Russian after her first-round victory over Dayana Yastremska at the Madrid Open in April 2023.




Both Yastremska and Sharapova have faced suspensions for failing drug tests, prompting Bouchard, 30, to take a swipe on X (formerly known as Twitter), posting: “There’s something about playing dopers in Madrid”, only to remove the tweet shortly thereafter, reports the Express.

In a candid chat with Valeria Lipovetsky on YouTube, the runner-up of Wimbledon 2014 was quizzed on whether her clash with Sharapova was genuine or just part of the sport’s entertainment.

Bouchard responded: “It was real but I wish there was more of the game in tennis. We need more personality, we need matches to be more hyped up just like wrestling, fighting or individual combat sports.”

She further acknowledged that allowing players to show more character could spice up the tennis scene, citing figures such as Nick Kyrgios and John McEnroe as the kind of personalities that bring excitement to the sport. “I think it would make tennis more interesting and better, we need bad boys [like] Nick Kyrgios, we need John McEnroe from back in the day.

“So for me, I was just voicing my beliefs. I strongly believe in fair and clean sport, and the whole thing escalated. Tennis could become far more exciting if the personalities were allowed to express themselves a bit more,” she said.

In early 2021, Yastremska landed herself in trouble when she tested positive for mesterolone, an anabolic steroid, resulting in a provisional suspension from competing. However, the suspension was lifted in June that year after the International Tennis Federation declared that the Ukrainian was not at fault or negligent for the positive drug test.

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