Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard is off the court after a difficult loss at the Rogers Cup on Thursday, but a volley of criticism from French media about the way she pronounces her name is keeping the Montreal-born player in the spotlight.
A recent column in the Journal de Montreal targeted the tennis player, who is an Anglophone, for pronouncing her name “Genie” rather than “Eugenie.” Other writers have gone on to attack her personality, her “arrogance,” her love of Miami, and her French-speaking skills.
“The day when all Quebecers will culturally look like the great Genie and will, like her, switch from French to English, Quebec will simply not exist anymore. It will be a North American region amongst others,” columnist Mathieu Bock-Cote, who has been described as a well-known sovereigntist, wrote in the French-language newspaper Journal de Montreal.
Tennis writer Stephanie Myers points to two other Quebec journalists – Marc de Foy and Rejean Tremblay – who she says have singled out Bouchard. In a recent column, de Foy wrote that Bouchard’s “arrogance” and “disinterest” during a press conference did little to “attract companies looking for a spokesperson.”
“The negative tone on the Francophone side of the media is unfortunate, but it’s easy. And all the people who’ve been ripping her, I’ve not seen any of them at her press conference asking her any questions face-to-face,” said tennis columnist Stephanie Myers.
CTV Montreal reached out to Tremblay, Bock-Cote and de Foy about their stories. Only one writer responded, and he declined to comment.
Montreal Gazette journalist Pat Hickey called the criticisms “stupid” and pointed out that Bouchard and her twin sister are “actually named after two British princesses.”
“The fact is she speaks French (and) she does French interviews and things like that,” Hickey said.
Bouchard’s trainer also came to her defence. Speaking at a recent press conference, Sylvain Bruneau said the young tennis star has been treated “unfairly” by reporters.
“I think she’s an outstanding girl. She’s funny, she’s charming, she’s smart. I really, really like her. And I know sometimes she may say a couple of things in a press conference and some people picked on them, or whatever, and I think sometimes she’s treated a little bit unfairly,” Bruneau said.
Fans who spoke with CTV Montreal echoed that sentiment.
“If she performs well on the court, then that’s fine with me. Whether she speaks in French or English, I don’t really care, I don’t really mind,” said one male fan.
A woman said it doesn’t really matter how Bouchard pronounces her name.
“Even if she has a French name, her first language is English. And at least she speaks both languages,” she said.
Bouchard hasn’t publicly spoken out against the recent stories, but she has commented in the past on the way some journalists have criticised her.
“There definitely are some harsher critics than others and so-called haters, and things like that. I think it’s all part of the job,” she told reporters last July.
“It’s hard not to hear it or see it, but I just kind of give it some distance and not really worry about it.”
With a report from CTV Montreal and The Canadian Press
