Genie Bouchard

Genie Bouchard is the most famous tennis-to-pickleball convert on tour, and she earned that spotlight the hard way. A former world #5 in tennis, 2014 Wimbledon finalist, and Junior Wimbledon champion, Bouchard signed with the PPA Tour in 2023 and promptly went 0-9 in her first pro pickleball tournaments. The internet was ruthless. But she kept grinding, switched to a Proton paddle, overhauled her footwork, and by 2025 was reaching women's singles finals and beating top players.

Bouchard played for the Utah Black Diamonds in MLP and brings a level of mainstream name recognition that few pickleball players can match. Follow her on Instagram @gaborosie. She's candid about the brutal learning curve of switching from tennis to pickleball, especially mastering the kitchen game (dinking and drops), which simply doesn't exist in tennis. Her story is a reminder that being elite at one racquet sport doesn't automatically make you elite at another.