Eugenie Bouchard, who retired from professional tennis last year, shared a humorous perspective on returning to Indian Wells since retiring. Her take on the situation drew amusing reactions from fellow players Amanda Anisimova, Eva Lys, and others.
Bouchard turned professional in 2009 and announced her retirement in July 2025. She concluded her career at her home tournament, the 2025 Canadian Open, where she defeated Emiliana Arango in the first round before losing to Belinda Bencic in the second round.
Amanda Anisimova, Eva Lys React to Eugenie Bouchard’s Tennis Return
Despite her tennis retirement, Bouchard remains active in pickleball, having made her professional debut in January 2024. In April 2026, she is set to participate in Pickleball Slam 4, an exhibition event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Recently, Bouchard took to social media and posted a funny video about her experience returning to Indian Wells after retiring. In the video, she is seen awkwardly greeting her former coach, Tim Blenkiron, and Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman.
“back at a tennis tournament like,” Bouchard captioned her Instagram post.
Reacting to Bouchard’s video, Anisimova and Lys commented with multiple laughing emojis. Sam Querrey, who retired from professional tennis in 2022, also resonated with Bouchard’s sentiments, expressing that he felt awkward attending a tennis tournament after his retirement.
“😂 😂 ☠️,” Anisimova commented.
“😂 😂 😂 😂,” Lys wrote.
“I felt the same way,” Querrey commented.
As for Anisimova’s run at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, the former World No. 3 is seeded sixth and began her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.
Anisimova kicked off her campaign by defeating Anna Blinkova, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0, in her opening match. She then eliminated the 25th seed, Emma Raducanu, 6-1, 6-1, in the third round. Anisimova will next face the 10th seed, Victoria Mboko, in the fourth round.
Anisimova and Mboko have never met on the WTA Tour, so their match at Indian Wells will mark the first encounter between the two players. The winner will advance to meet either top seed Aryna Sabalenka or 16th seed Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Lys’ last WTA Tour competition was the 2026 Australian Open, where she lost in the first round to Sorana Cîrstea, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. She was also scheduled to compete at Indian Wells but withdrew due to an ongoing right knee injury sustained at the Australian Open, leading to lucky loser Dalma Gálfi replacing her.
