Tennis player Eugenie Bouchard and the USTA reach settlement
Canadian tennis player and former world number 5, Eugenie Bouchard has reached a settlement in her lawsuit against the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA). However, the terms of the settlement have been kept confidential. Bouchard, who won the liability phase of trial, said, "I feel vindicated...It's been two and a half years, so I'm happy it's over." Here are the case details.
Eugenie Bouchard: Player bio
Eugenie Bouchard rose to prominence in 2014 when she reached two Grand Slam semi-finals, the Australian Open and French Open, before becoming the first Canadian singles player to compete at a Grand Slam final, the Wimbledon. That year she broke into the top 5 rankings.
Slip-and-fall incident at the 2015 US Open
At the 2015 US Open, Bouchard slipped on a locker room floor hurting her head in the fall. She suffered a concussion forcing her to pull out of the tournament. The tennis player then went on to sue the USTA which operates the US Open, in October 2015, alleging that the fall was caused by a "slippery, foreign and dangerous substance on the floor."
No major success after the incident
While the 2015 incident forced her to pull out of the US Open, she also did not compete in any other tournament for the rest of that season. Bouchard has not been able to replicate her 2014 success, ever since the concussion.
A win for the player
Bouchard, in her lawsuit against USTA, sought damages for her physical and emotional suffering, as well as lost earnings on and off court. She won the liability phase of the trial which focused on the cause of Bouchard's injury. The jury found found the USTA liable and stated that they pay 75% of the damages while the player bore 25% of the comparative negligence.
