Eugenie Bouchard quits tennis for pickleball after horror rankings slide, fans respond to career move

Eugenie Bouchard has dumped tennis for pickleball.

And upset fans of the “hottest tennis player ever” are up in arms at her shock decision, The Sun reports.

Pickleball chiefs are calling the ex-world No. 5’s switch to their professional circuit “one of the biggest signings of the year”.

But the 2014 Wimbledon finalist, 29, has faced a volley of agonised comments online.

Many of Bouchard’s 2.4 million Instagram followers bemoaned the “sad moment” – as she moved careers to what one fan called “giant ping-pong”.

But others argued the Canadian’s fall down the tennis rankings to No. 215 means she will be no great loss to the more traditional sport.

One observer had a subtle swipe by posting: “Good luck to Genie. It’s ok for ex-tennis players to make a living in a less demanding sport.”