Eugenie Bouchard disclosed that a bold shaved-head look derailed a major Rolex sponsorship during her peak tennis years. The Canadian star shone in 2014, reaching the Wimbledon final, securing her first title, and entering the world’s top five. Yet, mounting pressure prompted a rebellious shift, culminating in a dramatic 2016 haircut that prompted Rolex to end their partnership via a blunt email to her agent.
Career Highlights and Rising Pressure
Bouchard, now 32 and retired from professional tennis, shared these insights on the Ok Sweetie podcast. After years of intense focus on the sport from a young age, she embraced a late rebellious phase at 22. She aimed for a subtle undercut but ended up with half her head shaved.
“I had a very late rebellious phase. Normally, I feel like that happens in your teens, and so for me, it happened at 22. And I shaved the side of my head,” Bouchard explained. “To be fair, I wanted just a very small undercut thing, and I don’t know what happened, but it was literally half my head. I felt like I looked like a cancer patient, and I was like, this is not the look I was going for.”
Impact on Sponsorships
The unintended style change had professional repercussions. Bouchard lost her Rolex renewal, with the luxury brand citing misalignment in an email.
“It was way worse than what I intended, but it caused me to not get my Rolex deal renewed. I think they sent an email to my agent along the lines of like, ‘Oh, this doesn’t align with our brand’, or something like that,” she revealed.
Further Acts of Rebellion
Bouchard’s phase extended to a temporary henna tattoo on her forearm—a crown inspired by Justin Bieber’s ink.
“And then I got a temporary tattoo as well, like a henna tattoo or something like that… It was, like, a crown, because Justin Bieber has one of those, like a crown. I was looking for inspiration, and I just looked at his tattoos, and I saw it. I thought it was kind of cool.”
Navigating Appearance Scrutiny
Often under the spotlight for her looks, including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit features, Bouchard used these changes to challenge stereotypes.
“I was like, okay, this is my appearance now. Like, F you,” she said.
Younger Bouchard leaned tomboyish, but influences from her sisters shifted her toward embracing femininity on and off court.
“It’s an interesting mix when you become a female athlete, which is very much like tomboy and things like that… You don’t have to be this, like, stereotypical female athlete, tomboy vibe.”
Criticism of Off-Court Pursuits
Public backlash targeted her ventures beyond tennis, like magazine appearances, which she views as earned rewards.
“The big thing I feel like people hated on was doing stuff outside of tennis… Why should I keep myself in a little box and stay in my lane and not take advantage of opportunities that… come from this amazing sport that I’ve dedicated my whole life to?”
Bouchard retired from tennis at last year’s Canadian Open. She now competes professionally in pickleball since 2023 and contributes to Tennis Channel commentary.
