After signing a deal to be a part of the WME/IMG agency at the end of 2014, Eugenie Bouchard and the sports agency have parted ways. This news was first reported by Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal. WME/IMG started representing Bouchard from January 2015.
The World’s Most Marketable Athlete
Back in the middle of the Canadian’s tumultuous 2015 season, she was named as the “World’s Most Marketable Athlete” by SportsPro. Through their criterion of value for money, age, home market, charisma, willingness to be marketed, and crossover appeal, the 22-year-old was set to have a bright future, not just in the sport of tennis, but in the sponsorship world as well.
The Canadian is still sponsored by some big name companies such as Nike, Babolat, Rogers Communication, and Coca-Cola Canada but loses not just a sporting agency, but a modeling agency as well since she was signed with IMG Models
Deserved Criticism?
Bouchard’s season last year was not worth the title of “World’s Most Marketable Athlete”. She finished last year with 12 wins, seven of them coming at the Grand Slams, four at the Australian Open and three at the US Open. She had two first round exits at Grand Slams, French Open and Wimbledon, just a year removed from losing in three sets in the semifinal at Roland Garros and making her first career major final at Wimbledon.
She finished her season on the sideline, experiencing post-concussion syndrome after her controversial locker room incident during the US Open. Her final match saw her walk off the court in Beijing complaining about concussion symptoms. Many people have been highly-critical of the Canadian, calling her the next coming of Anna Kournikova due to her lack of strong results and her constant presence in the media whether it be through television or social media.
The Comeback Kid
Despite the poor 2015 season, the former Wimbledon finalist has found herself on the rise back up the rankings after her strong start to 2016. In her first two tournaments of this season, she notched six wins, the equivalent of what she won in the first three months of 2015. She also reached her first final since Wuhan in 2014. This year, she’s made two finals, Hobart and Kuala Lumpur, and has notched four more wins than she did all of last season.