Eugenie Bouchard recently shared her experience of missing the New York Mets’ ceremonial first pitch due to a tumultuous flight journey.
The ceremonial first pitch is a baseball tradition in which a guest of honor throws a ball to signify the start of the game. The guest typically stands on or in front of the pitcher’s mound and throws toward home plate.
Why Did Eugenie Bouchard Miss Out on Throwing the New York Mets’ Ceremonial First Pitch?
On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, the New York Mets faced the San Diego Padres at Citi Field in New York City, where the Padres won the game 7-4.
Bouchard was the guest of honor for the Mets and was scheduled to throw the ceremonial first pitch. However, she missed the opportunity due to a flight delay. The Canadian documented the entire ordeal on her social media. She explained that her flight was stuck on the runway, causing multiple delays, so she couldn’t deplane and catch a different flight. She noted that if she arrived in New York on time, she would have had to sprint through the airport to make it to the stadium.
“:(story time: I am on board to NY to throw out the first pitch at the @mets game tonight and the flight keeps getting delayed! we are out by the runway so i can’t even get off and go jump on another flight. Still hoping to make it in time but need you guys to pray to the flight gods with me!!🤞🏼,” Bouchard captioned her Instagram story.
“we can take off at 5:30 this might be a do or die situation, might be sprinting into the field,” she continued.
“eating cookies to deal with the stress,” she revealed.
“sprinting thru lga,” Bouchard added.
Bouchard shared that after running through the airport, she took a cab to the stadium and did her makeup while en route. Despite her efforts, the former World No. 5 ultimately missed the ceremonial first pitch but said she felt “lucky” to enjoy the game.
“make up in uber(so sweaty),” Bouchard captioned her story.
“ran into @citifield to these 2 waiting for me with my gear.. i missed the first pitch i am so sorry @mets 😭😭,” she continued.
“still lucky enough to take in the game! 🙏🏼 @mets,” she said.
“go team!!!” Bouchard added.
In a follow-up social media post, Bouchard shared a picture of herself traveling on the New York Subway and expressed her hope to throw the ceremonial first pitch for the New York Mets next year.
“maybe next year @mets 🧡💙,” Bouchard mentioned.
On the tennis side of things, Bouchard participated in only three tennis tournaments this year: the 2025 Hall of Fame Open, the Citi DC Open, and the Canadian Open. At the singles event of the WTA 125 tournament in Newport, Rhode Island, Bouchard received a wild card entry into the main draw. She lost in the first round to Anna Rogers, 5-7, 2-6.
In the doubles event of the same tournament, the former World No. 5 partnered with Olivia Lincer. They won their first-round match against Maria Mateas and Alana Smith, finishing with a score of 7-5, 7-6(2).
However, their run ended in the quarterfinals, where they were defeated 4-6, 4-6 by the second-seeded pair of Makenna Jones and Rogers.
In Washington, D.C., Bouchard only participated in the doubles event with Clervie Ngounoue. They also received a wild card entry and lost in the first round to another wild card pair, Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste, 3-6, 1-6.
Bouchard played her final professional WTA match at the 2025 Canadian Open. In the first round, she triumphed over Emiliana Arango 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. However, the Canadian was eliminated by 17th seed Belinda Bencic in the second round, with the score reading 2-6, 6-3, 4-6.
Following her defeat to Bencic at the WTA 1000 hard-court tournament in Montreal, the former World No. 5 retired from tennis. Interestingly, she began her professional pickleball career in 2024.