Bouchard out but the lawsuit carries on
NO HEADWAY Nearly a year later, the case is far from settled; no depositions have been taken, and the window for the discovery period has been extended through January
Eugenie Bouchard’s fall last year at the U.S. Open is still reverberating.
Bouchard, who suffered a concussion late one night after a mixed doubles win, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Open and the U.S. Tennis Association in October.
Ranked 39th, Bouchard lost her first-round match at this year’s Open on Tuesday against Katerina Siniakova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. But nearly a year after her concussion, the case that started here is far from settled. No depositions have been taken, and the window for the discovery period has been extended through January.
In a statement last week, Chris Widmaier, the USTA’s managing director of corporate communications, reiterated the organization’s stance that it did not comment on continuing litigation, but he then expressed disappointment with Bouchard.
“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 USTA, 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 said the litigation would have “no impact” on how Bouchard was treated at the Open, and he pointed to a wild-card slot she was granted weeks ago into the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio, as a show of support and goodwill. (The wild card was only for the qualifying draw.)
The match between Bouchard and Siniakova took place on the shining new Grandstand court, but Bouchard’s postmatch news conference was relegated to Interview Room 2, away from the tournament’s transcription and live streaming services. The room, which had chairs for seven, was quickly packed as dozens of reporters crammed in.
Bouchard said she had been treated well at the tournament, but she rejected the USTA’s assertion that her focus had been foremost on her legal issues. “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, said 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 ended 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 contends 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 said he objected to what he saw as unnecessarily “hardball” legal tactics, 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.”
In his calculations, Morelli posits an alternate life for Bouchard, one in which she would have won the Open last year and raked in further endorsements, appearance fees and prize money.
Bouchard, however, had lost 15 of 18 matches heading into last year’s Open. Her fourthround match, from which she withdrew, would have been against Roberta Vinci, the eventual finalist, who had clobbered Bouchard, 6-1, 6-0, a week earlier in New Haven. Except for one abortive comeback attempt in Beijing, Bouchard did not play for the remainder of the 2015 season. Her start to 2016 was strong but has been inconsistent. Morelli said he thought that Bouchard was no longer suffering the physical effects of the injury, but that the emotional and psychological damage lingered, as did the damage to her ranking. “Obviously, coming back here, I had mixed emotions,” Bouchard said. “It’s hard not to think about what happened last year. But since I’ve been here, I’ve been forcing myself just to focus on the positive, and I’ve also had great memories here at the U.S. Open. I played really well last year and did well the year before, even.” Although Bouchard is Canadian, Morelli said the USTA had an obligation to look out for her.
“You have a young woman who is endorsed by all the major products, and she’s bringing a lot of money to tennis in general,” Morelli said.
“And tennis isn’t exactly on the upswing these days, if you know what I mean. You need all the good players - and all the beautiful-looking players, like she is - in the sport. Don’t you think you should take care of them? She’s one of your own.
I am 100 percent focused on tennis. 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.
Yeah, I’m disappointed in what happened, so I have to fight for what I think is right.
Obviously, coming back here, I had mixed emotions. It’s hard not to think about what happened last year. But since I’ve been here, I’ve been forcing myself just to focus on the positive, and I’ve also had great memories here at the US Open. EUGENIE BOUCHARD, Canadian tennis player