Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard is taking legal action against the United States Tennis Association and USTA National Tennis Center after she was forced to withdraw from the US Open after slipping on a wet floor.
The 21-year-old Canadian suffered concussion in the fall on a tiled floor in the physiotherapy room next to the women's locker room following a mixed doubles match with Nick Kyrgios on the Friday of the first week of the tournament at Flushing Meadow.
"The locker room was empty and dark when Bouchard entered for an ice bath, and she slipped on the recently cleaned floor and fell, hitting her elbow and head," reported the New York Times after the incident in September.
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She withdrew from the doubles competitions on the advice of doctors the following day, and pulled out of her fourth round match against Roberta Vinci on Sunday. It proved significant for the outcome of the tournament as Vinci went on to beat Serena Williams and make it all the way to the final.
It also brought an end to a revival in Bouchard's form. The Canadian had lost 15 of 18 matches going into the US Open, but had won three in a row in New York.
Since her fall, Bouchard has been forced to withdraw from the Japan Open, Wuhan Open, China Open and Hong Kong Open tournaments, and has dropped 13 places in the world rankings as a result.
The lawsuit was filed at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn, reports the Daily Telegraph. It alleges negligence and includes a demand for a jury trial, with Bouchard seeking damages.
It says she is suing as she continues to suffer pain as a consequence of the fall, resulting in medical costs, a loss of income and an impact on her quality of life.
According to the lawsuit Bouchard slipped on "a slippery, foreign and dangerous substance" in the physiotherapy room and alleges that the "defendants either caused or should have known of the floor condition, and that Bouchard was not made aware".
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