Eugenie Bouchard has revealed that a “rebellious” haircut cost her a lucrative brand deal with Rolex at the height of her career. The retired Canadian tennis player enjoyed a triumphant 2014 season, finishing runner-up at Wimbledon, lifting her maiden title, and cracking the world’s top five.

But Bouchard struggled with the extra pressure that came after her breakthrough, and decided to rebel. The former world No. 5 unveiled a dramatic new look a couple of years later, and failed to renew her deal with Rolex, receiving a brutal email from the luxury watchmaker.

The 32-year-old recently opened up on her life and career during an appearance on the Ok Sweetie podcast, where she explained exactly what went down with her sudden hair transformation. After focusing on tennis from such a young age, the Canadian decided that she wanted to rebel, and in 2016, she stepped out with one side of her head shaved.

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“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,” she 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.”

Beyond having to live with an unwanted haircut until it grew out, it also literally cost Bouchard, who lost a big brand deal. “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.

That wasn’t all Bouchard did during her anarchic phase. The 32-year-old also got a temporary tattoo inspired by another famous Canadian, Justin Bieber. She continued: “And then I got a temporary tattoo as well, like a henna tattoo or something like that. It was on my forearm. This is so cringe… This is so embarrassing. 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.”

Throughout her career, Bouchard has received more attention over her appearance than most tennis players. She’s posed for the likes of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue – and the undercut and tattoo were her way of hitting back at those stereotypes. “I was like, okay, this is my appearance now. Like, F you,” she said.

The 2014 Wimbledon finalist also explained that she was more of a “tomboy” when she was younger, something which changed as she got older, and thanks to her sisters’ influence. “It’s an interesting mix when you become a female athlete, which is very much like tomboy and things like that,” she explained.

“I’m like, but wait, I still want to look cute on the court. I want to wear a cute outfit. I still want to wear heels and go out at night. You don’t have to be this, like, stereotypical female athlete, tomboy vibe. And I think that was interesting for people, you know?”

That mentality didn’t always serve Bouchard well with the public, and during her career, there was plenty of focus on the Canadian’s off-court style choices, brand deals and appearances. But she doesn’t agree with the scrutiny she received. “The big thing I feel like people hated on was doing stuff outside of tennis,” she added.

“And I just remember feeling bad about getting that hate and not understanding it, because I was like, hey, if Vogue went up to you and said, ‘Hey, do you want to be in our magazine?’ You would say yes. So I got all these cool opportunities because of my success in tennis, and I was just saying yes to them. And it’s like, why should I keep myself in a little box and stay in my lane and not take advantage of opportunities that, first of all, come from this amazing sport that I’ve dedicated my whole life to? And back in the day, it was more, stay in your lane. And I just find it hilarious now.”

Bouchard ultimately ended her professional career at last year’s Canadian Open, though she has been a professional pickleball player since 2023 and previously joined Tennis Channel’s commentary team.

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