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Wednesday, May 17, 2017

{allcanada} Inside Genie Bouchard’s bitter legal battle with US Open

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Eugenie Bouchard's lawsuit against the United States Tennis Association takes another turn.

Bouchard's lawyers filed a motion in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday in her prolonged legal battle against the organization that runs the US Open, claiming the USTA "intentionally" deleted security camera footage of her fall at the 2015 tournament despite having a legal obligation.

Bouchard's lawyer, Benedict Morelli, requested USTA officials retain all evidence pertaining to the Canadian starlet's fall, which caused a career-altering concussion.

However, Morelli says, all but one angle from the multiple cameras on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that could be instructive have since been destroyed. (There are no cameras in the women's locker room itself, for obvious reasons.) He stated the USTA purposely erased the relevant footage because it would have reflected badly on the USTA's case.

"I just wish the [USTA] would tell it straight with reference to how this accident happened," Morelli told The Post over the phone. "They caused it 100 percent, and stand up and say so for goodness sake."

The USTA does not agree with Morelli's characterization.

"The USTA is confident that it preserved all documents and other materials requested by Mr. Morelli at the time he advised us of Ms.
Bouchard's claim," the USTA said in a statement. "Other than that, the USTA followed its standard retention policies, which make it impossible to accommodate an additional request that came more than 14 months after the original notice.

"The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a 43 acre facility with numerous cameras throughout the site. Although there are no cameras in the women's locker room, the USTA did preserve all footage that it reasonably believed could be relevant to her claim and in accordance with her counsel's preservation request."

Bouchard, 23, slipped and hit her head on the ground inside a dark, unattended locker room at the US Open back in September 2015. Bouchard had just finished a mixed-doubles match and was headed to the ice bath. When she walked into the locker room, she slipped on a "foreign and dangerous" substance, according to the lawsuit, which caused her to suffer a concussion and eventually withdraw from the tournament.

The USTA has previously disputed Bouchard's claim that the locker room was dark, saying it contains "twilight lighting" that keeps it partially lit. They also said the conditions of the room were "open and obvious." In addition, they maintain Bouchard refused medical attention after the fall and ignored the "protocols, procedures, and expectations" of players who use the room.

The lawsuit claims the USTA failed to effectively locate the employee who laid down the cleaning fluid that caused Bouchard to fall. Instead of focusing from the get-go on who left the slippery substance, Morelli says, the USTA first investigated the driver who ushered Bouchard away from the tennis complex because they wanted to disparage Bouchard and protect themselves.

The USTA also said Bouchard's activity on social media — the bubbly star likes to remain active on Instagram and Twitter — disputed the severity of her injury. At the time, Bouchard's lawyer called that claim "absurd."

"There was no interest [by the USTA] in finding out that they did the wrong thing," Morelli said. "What they did caused injury to one of their major stars. By doing that, interviewing that first person, that's very telling."

In addition, Bouchard's lawyer said the USTA intentionally misled them about the maximum amount they can be paid out by their insurance, which has her side seeking significantly more in damages.

Morelli said the fall cost Bouchard, currently ranked No. 52 in the world, to plunge in the rankings and miss out on potential earnings. In her next match after the slip-and-fall, which would turn out to be her final match of 2015, Bouchard was forced to retire because she experienced dizziness.

Her struggles continued into 2016, when she finished with a mediocre record of 31-24 and failed to capture a WTA title. When she returned to Flushing for the 2016 US Open, she flamed out in the first round in a three-set loss to Katerina Siniakova. She said her return to the scene of her injury wasn't a distraction.

Bouchard's inconsistent performance has lingered into 2017. She posted her biggest win in years at the Madrid Open earlier this month when she defeated Maria Sharapova, whom Bouchard had badmouthed after the Russian returned to tennis following a failed drug test in 2015. She followed that by knocking off world No. 1 Angelique Kerber.

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