In this episode, Valeria sits down with Genie Bouchard, the professional tennis player and emerging pickleball pro, to discuss her journey from a young tennis star to exploring new horizons in sports and personal growth. Genie opens up about the sacrifices she made for her career, the challenges of dealing with public scrutiny, and her recent transition into pickleball. The conversation also touches on Genie's experiences with injuries, her thoughts on the evolution of women's sports, and her ventures outside of tennis, including a potential movie project. Genie Bouchard is a Canadian professional tennis player known for her breakout performance in 2014, where she reached the Wimbledon final and broke into the top 5 in the WTA rankings. She has since become a prominent figure in sports and media, participating in various off-court projects and recently transitioning to professional pickleball. She continues to inspire with her resilience, adaptability, and passion for sports. Genie is on: https://www.instagram.com/geniebouchard https://www.facebook.com/GenieBouchard/ https://www.tiktok.com/@geniebouchard Valeria is on: https://www.instagram.com/valerialipovetsky/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWkDFq1pO7YNzifE3A4UsMA https://www.tiktok.com/@valeria.lipovetsky Not Alone Podcast Shop my look from this episode: https://liketk.it/4G0ok What We Talked About: 00:00 Intro 01:10 I decided to play tennis at 9 years old 02:51 Lack of social and life experiences 05:23 What else do I like? 06:32 Female athletes’ struggles 08:41 Don’t listen to the outside noise 11:21 You can’t take it personally 13:58 Did you have limiting beliefs? 15:46 Mental health support 17:38 Tennis needs more personality 19:26 Benefits of being a female athlete 21:33 Why stop myself being someone big? 22:53 Pickleball 26:59 The viral twirl 30:24 Athletes becoming fashion icons 32:11 A movie in the works 34:35 The Challengers 38:22 How can you be bad at pickleball? 40:13 Single girl phase 42:32 What I’ve learned from my past relationships 46:11 Acting normal won’t get you far 48:36 Sacrifices had to be made 50:01 The ups and downs 52:15 Every athlete has had an injury 53:34 “I’m not sure what’s next yet” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices