Eugenie Bouchard has criticized both the World Tennis Association and Maria Sharapova after the Russian tennis star, who has been serving a 15-month doping suspension, was permitted to return to play on Wednesday.

Genie Bouchard Slams WTA, Maria Sharapova After Return

Sharapova, who turned 30 on April 19, defeated Italian Roberta Vinci at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, 7-5, 6-3 Wednesday. The Russian had originally been banned from tennis for two years after testing positive for meldonium, a drug prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency in January 2016, at the Australian Open that year.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced Sharapova’s suspension to 15 months, stating she was not an “intentional doper” but “bore some degree of fault” for trusting her agent with regards to the list of banned drugs, which the agent evidently had an erroneous version of.

Bouchard lambasted the WTA, saying it had set a terrible example to young, aspiring athletes, and called Sharapova a “cheater” who should be banned from tennis for life.

“She’s a cheater and … I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again,” said the 23-year-old Canadian. “It’s so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way and are true. I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids: ‘cheat and we’ll welcome you back with open arms’.”

The 2014 Wimbledon finalist continued: “I don’t think that’s right and (Sharapova is) definitely not someone I can say I look up to any more.”

Bouchard last fell to Slovakia’s Jana Čepelová 6-0, 6-4 at the Istanbul Open on Tuesday.

Sharapova also beat fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 7-5, 6-1 in the second round at Stuttgart early Thursday, and next faces Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in the quarterfinals Friday morning.

The Russian star will find out in May whether she will be given a wild card for the French Open.

Caption: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 20: Eugenie Bouchard of Canada plays a forehand in her second round match against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during day three of the 2016 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Eugenie Bouchard has kept her promise.

Eugenie Bouchard Attends Nets Game For Date With Super Bowl bet Twitter Fan

The Canadian tennis star, who will be 23 on Feb. 25, honored her promise to go on a date with a fan she lost a bet with on Twitter regarding the outcome of Super Bowl LI by attending a Brooklyn Nets game with the lucky boy on Wednesday night.

After the Atlanta Falcons led 21-3 at halftime, Bouchard predicted in a tweet that they would win the Super Bowl. However, the fan, 20-year-old University of Missouri student John Goehrke, was confident the New England Patriots would be able to make a comeback victory, and they did. Goehrke wagered a date as part of the bet that his team would win, and Bouchard accepted.

The tennis player tweeted a photo of herself and her blind date before Wednesday’s game, with the caption:

“Just met my ‘Super Bowl Twitter Date’ John. On our way to the @BrooklynNets game!” she wrote.

Bouchard, a Montreal native, had secured prime courtside seats for the date at the Barclays Center in New York, where the Nets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 129-125.

The date appeared to have gone pretty well, as Bouchard told YES Network the night wasn’t awkward, and that she was impressed how big a sports fan Goehrke is.

“He’s normal,” she said. “We’ve gotten to know each other. It’s great.”

Bouchard added that Goehrke was a “gentleman” who had gotten her a gift and that there would be a second date “for sure.” 

.@YESNetwork interviews #Mizzou student @punslayintwoods and pro tennis player @geniebouchard during their date. pic.twitter.com/DgeSrydFhi

— Mark Kim (@MarkJKim_) February 16, 2017

Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard was one of many watching Super Bowl LI on Sunday, and like many NFL fans, she believed the Atlanta Falcons would surely come away with the victory after leading 28-3 shortly after halftime.

Canadian Tennis Star Eugenie Bouchard Date With A Fan

The Montreal native, who will be 23 later this month, had predicted a Falcons win over the New England Patriots before the game began, and felt confident enough to declare victory when Tevin Coleman ran in Atlanta’s fourth touchdown.

‘I knew Atlanta would win btw’, Bouchard wrote to her one million Twitter followers.

This daring statement issued before the game even finished led one fan to make a bet with her: if the Patriots pulled a comeback victory, they would go on a date.

Bouchard agreed, and was left stunned by the final result. She shared on Twitter the lesson she had learned from the bet: that Tom Brady is very hard to bet against. 

The tennis star also tweeted on Monday a photo of herself staring in disbelief, as she still seemed dumbfounded by the bet she had lost. Bouchard followed that up with a screenshot of a trending story on Twitter that raised the question of whether she would follow through on the bet:

After Bouchard asked the lucky fan where he lived so they could meet up, the fan responded he is originally from Chicago but now attends school in Missouri, before adding he would let the tennis player choose the location of their date.

Bouchard is believed to be dating hockey player Jordan Caron and recently shared a picture of the two enjoying a beach holiday after her disappointing Australian Open.

She defeated Louisa Chrico and Peng Shuai in straight sets, before falling 4-6 6-3 5-7 to eventual semi-finalist Coco Vanderweghe in the third round.

Caption:MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 20: Eugenie Bouchard of Canada plays a forehand in her second round match against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during day three of the 2016 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Eugenie Bouchard’s tumble at the 2015 U.S. Open remains an incident that is very present in the minds of many.

Eugenie Bouchard Falls In Day 2 Of 2016 Open

The 22-year-old Canadian, who late one night after a mixed-doubles victory sustained a concussion that forced her to withdraw and miss subsequent tournaments, filed a lawsuit in October against the U.S. Open and the United States Tennis Association.

The 39th-ranked Bouchard lost her first-round match at this year’s Open on Tuesday against 20-year-old Czech Katerina Siniakova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. The win marked Siniakova’s first career U.S. open victory.

Nearly one year after Bouchard’s concussion, the case that began surround it is far from settled. No depositions have been taken.

In a statement last week, Chris Widmaier, the U.S.T.A.’s managing director of corporate communications, re-stated the organization’s position of not commenting on ongoing litigation, although he added that he was disappointed with the tennis star from Montreal.

“It is truly unfortunate that a year after her accident, Genie’s focus is on matters other than playing to her best ability,” Widmaier said, adding: “Her lawyers asked for an extension; the U.S.T.A. on the other hand, has remained ready, willing and able to bring the litigation to a conclusion as expeditiously as is possible, whether through settlement discussions or a fully litigated process.”

Widmaier also said the litigation would have “no impact” on how Bouchard was treated at this year’s tournament, and he mentioned a wild card she was granted weeks ago into the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio, as a show of support and good will. (The wild card was only for the qualifying draw.)

 Bouchard stated she had been treated well at the Open, although she rejected the U.S.T.A.’s assertion that her primary focus had been on her legal battle.

“I am 100 percent focused on tennis,” Bouchard said. “I have lawyers who are working on the case. I don’t think about it very often at all — maybe once a month when they call me.”

She added: “Yeah, I’m disappointed in what happened, so I have to fight for what I think is right.”

Benedict Morelli, Bouchard’s lawyer, stated in an interview last week that taking a deposition from his client before the Open would have been a distraction, and that she would be ready once her season finished in October.

“You can’t disrupt her training as she’s starting the Open,” Morelli said. “You’ll take it on her break.”

 Bouchard’s suit maintains that the organizers are liable because her injury resulted from a slippery, foreign substance on a tile floor, in a room that was left open and unattended.

“They know that they caused this problem,” Morelli said. “They don’t deny that she fell, they don’t deny she got hurt, and they’re not disputing any of that. Then why not concede that you’re the one who set up this whole situation of a slippery floor?”

Morelli also stated he objected to what he considered unnecessarily “hardball” legal strategies, including the serving of a subpoena to the limousine driver who took Bouchard and her mother, Julie Leclair, to the hospital.

Morelli did not give specifics on the amount he sought in damages for Bouchard. He has previously indicated that he is seeking “millions and millions.”

Aside from Siniakova, another winner at the US Open on Tuesday was fifth-ranked Romanian Simona Halep. The 24-year-old cruised through her opening-round match, defeating Kirsten Flipkens 6-0, 6-2.

No. 6-seed Venus Williams, meanwhile, won a tough battle against 22-year-old Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova in the last day session match on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday. After taking the first set in 38 minutes, Williams dropped the second despite initially leading 3-0. Nevertheless, the American– a two-time U.S. Open champion– ultimaetly came away with the first-round win, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

On the men’s side, after winning bronze in singles at the Rio Olympics, Japan’s Kei Nishikori beat German Benjamin Becker, 6-1, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, in his opening match. The No. 6-seed will next play Russian qualifier Karen Khachanov, who beat Thomas Fabbiano 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 on Tuesday.

 No. 3-seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland advanced in straight sets in his first match, beating Spain’s Fernando Verdasco 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4 for his 20th hard-court win of the season.

Caption:MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 20: Eugenie Bouchard of Canada plays a forehand in her second round match against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during day three of the 2016 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard played in one of the biggest games in a long time during the second round of the Australian Open, which she lost against fourth-seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

Eugenie Bouchard Loses In Second Round Of Australian Open

Bouchard, 21, a native of Westmount, Que., lost 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday in what she called “the biggest match I’ve played in awhile against the toughest opponent by far since my comeback from injury.”

“It was my toughest, I did ok,” she stated regarding the matchup, which lasted just under 90 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.

Bouchard has been on the road to a comeback ever since a concussion she suffered after a fall in the locker room at the U.S. Open last year. She has now won seven of her 10 matches so far this season after playing in China and Tasmania.

Bouchard confessed that she was nervous and that her heart was pounding during her last game, which she finished with 25 winners and 37 unforced errors.

“I don’t have any concussion symptoms, if so I would not be able to play,” Bouchard later added. “So far so good — that’s the most important thing. I’ve been able to play three weeks in a row over here. That’s a victory for me no matter what my results are.”