AN INTERVIEW WITH GENIE BOUCHARD’S MOM, JULIE LECLAIR
By Bill Simons
What went through your head as your little girl was out there on the greatest court in the world?
It’s the temple of tennis. Obviously, I’m proud, and I was hoping she would hold her nerves and close it out. You know, it’s tough out there.
Does all this seem a little unreal to you?
In a way, yes, obviously, but she has been working on this since she was four-and-a-half years old. So she just goes out every day trying to be the best she can. She said it could happen six months ago, could happen next year, could happen in three years—who knows?
She just came out of the juniors [2013 was her first full year on tour], and she’s already reached two Slam semifinals and one final. Is it shocking that it’s happened so fast?
I’m happy for her, she worked so hard at it. It’s good success. But there is a lot she can’t control, [such as] how other players do, and she can only play who is across the net from her.
She doesn’t seem to get nervous, though.
That’s her quality. Most kids would be a little nervous here.
Did she always have that quality?
She’s very calm, very composed.
I presume you gave [Genie’s twin sister] Beatrice a tennis racquet.
They started together at four-and-a-half. But after a couple of years, Beatrice wanted to stop. I respected that, I wasn’t going to force a seven-year-old to play tennis.
When did you see little Genie and say, “Wow, she can really be something”?
It was very progressive, she just loved it and wanted to do more—twice a week, three times a week, four times a week. She started leaving school early to get extra lessons and to go to tournaments.
It’s not easy moving a family from Montreal to Florida. [Bouchard was 12 at the time.]
Me and the four kids, we all went down. We went back and forth. My mother-in-law would come down and help. But we never shipped her away. It wasn’t [like we were just] dropping her off at the door of the academy.
Still, talk about the family sacrifice.
Huge sacrifice for the entire family, especially for the siblings. We stopped taking normal family vacations when she was twelve, because everything was around her schedule. So it was [a matter of] financial sacrifices and family time sacrifice.
Genie’s 20-years-old and the center of world attention. What’s the one phrase that best fits?
What a journey. Every day is one step. It’s like climbing Mount Everest—one step at a time.
And what does Nick Saviano bring to the journey?
Everything. I mean I met him when Genie was playing the 12-and-under Eddie Herr tournament. She was 10 or 11 and decided to come and train full-time in his academy …. Then we basically never went home.
Can you imagine, two days from now, Genie holding up the trophy?
Wow, I hope she can imagine it.
She has done it before.
When she walked out for her first round against Daniela Hantuchova on Court 1, it brought back good memories. [Bouchard won the Wimbledon junior championships there.]
What’s the most fun thing to happen during your trip here?
Hanging out with [actor] Jim Pearson. That’s was fun.
He’s talked about defying gravity. Do you think your daughter is defying gravity?
Again, it’s a journey, she has worked hard. All she can do is go out there and play the best match she can. I know it sounds odd, but I think she has defined gravity.
