Eugenie Bouchard’s roller coaster journey in tennis has taken another turn after it was confirmed that she has ended her collaboration with sports management agency IMG.
Bouchard had been working with the prestigious IMG company since December 2014. The agency is one of the principle management companies in the world of tennis. In recent times IMG has also worked with players such as Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Kei Nishikori, Nick Kyrgios, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Venus Williams.
The ending of Bouchard’s contract with IMG currently remains a mystery. According to Eh Game, her one-year contract expired, however, the two parties continued working together. It is reported that IMG was in the process in negotiating a new contract prior to the decision to end the collaboration.
Despite being ranked 46th in the world, the 22-year-old has been labelled as one of the most marketable players in tennis. In 2015 SportsPro Media ranked Bouchard No.1 in their list of most marketable athletes of 2015. The list compiled by the specialist company was created based on an athletes marketing potential over the next three years. Some of the companies that Bouchard current has a sponsorship deal with includes Nike and Rolex Watches.
There is no definitive answer to who Bouchard will work with after IMG. One strong possibility is the Team8 management group, a company launched in 2013 by Roger Federer and his agent Tony Godsick. The Agency already has a small but impressive collection of agreements with tennis players such as Grigor Dimitrov, Juan Martin del Potro and Tommy Paul. Bouchard considered working with Godstick in 2014 but his insistence that her mother, Julie Leclair, should no longer be involved in her management was a deal-breaker, according to Eh Game.
Things were also looking up for the Canadian on the court this year before she was troubled by an abdominal injury which forced her to withdraw from the Fed Cup this weekend. With a win-loss of 16-8 this year, she has reached two WTA finals in Hobart, Australia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Despite the encouraging start to the year, Bouchard is yet to defeat a top-20 player in 2016. Her biggest triumph was against world No.22 Sloane Stephens at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
The next tournament on Bouchard’s schedule is the Madrid Masters which will take place in the first week of may. It is still unclear if she will participate in the tournament due to her ongoing abdominal injury.
