14 Reveals from Bouchard's SI Podcast

Well, she's not Garbine Muguruza yet. For one, she hasn't won a major. Second, she hasn't stayed among the WTA Tour elite.

It's true that Genie Bouchard had, by her own admission, a 2016 season that was "very average" to "almost bad." She's down to No. 47 in the world—No. 51 at the time she sat down withSports Illustrated's Jamie Lisanti for a candid chat in a New York City hotel. The results shed light on Bouchard's thought patterns about her 2016 season, her family and her future prospects.

"My season is definitely not what I would've wanted it to have been," Bouchard told Lisanti, who was filling in for regular podcast titan Jon Wertheim. "I had some ups and downs, for sure... Honestly, I had a very average year or a bad year almost, but I'm still Top 50 in the world. So not a complete disaster, but obviously I expect more than that, and it's where I am right now."

Here are 13 more reveals Bouchard made over the course of the 22-minute podcast:

On her fall from the WTA top 10: "These things can happen to the best of us. I remember that Andre Agassi dropped well past [No.] 100, and came back to be No. 1 in the world again. It shows you anything can happen, it shows that if you persevere you can do it, and it also shows you that players who have been one of the best in their field, who have reached great heights—and I did, I got to [No. 5] in the world—it shows that you still have that. And it's just about figuring out the right plan, the right strategy, having the team around you. You don't lose your talent."

About her sterling 2014 season, when she reached the Wimbledon final and two other major semifinals: "It's time to focus on today, and get over it. Try to live for right now and do the best you can right now. It's the past. That's what's so interesting about tennis, and so tough. You constantly have to prove yourself, week after week. You can win a tournament on Sunday, and the next tournament's starting on Monday, and you're back to zero and equal to everyone else in the draw. That's what's so mentally tough about this crazy game we play."

On learning how to cope with fame and pressure: "Those horrible anxiety feelings [of 2015] of just trying to live up to what everyone else around expects of you, and I learned to distance myself from that and not take, let's say, negative media articles personally."

How she made up with media coverage: "The media have their job, and they want a headline. They have to write a story. They'll build you up and break you down just as quickly... But I also learned that I was putting too much pressure on myself... You have to let that go and just play, and what will happen, happens."

On Instagram versus Snapchat: "Instagram, to me, is still very important, but Snapchat has this unique ability to show what you're doing in the moment... I do kind of look at the 'explore' feature of Instagram because I want to see what I'm missing, and I've definitely followed more accounts because of that."

As to whether she checks up on comments on her Instagram account: "That's something I really avoid doing. And once in a while a friend or my brother will screenshot a super-hilarious one or a super-horrible one, and send it to me as a joke. And so sometimes I know from that what comments are like. But it would be too hard, mentally, to go through that."

About relations with her brother and sisters: "I look at their lives, and I think it's so cool, because I never lived the university life, or just normal kid life, so I look at them with envy a little bit and wish I could do that. And they look at me like they think my life is so cool, too, so it's cool that we live through each other a little bit to experience different things."

As to why she didn't consider college-level play: "It was so set in my mind that I was going to be a professional tennis player that I didn't even have a plan B. And I think that kind of helped me reach my Plan A... I do think playing tennis at college or any college route is amazing, but for me, in my head since I was 9 years old, I was like, 'I'm being a professional tennis player.'"

Even so: "I also love school, and I'm definitely open to the prospect of going back to school."

On non-tennis career plans: "It definitely wouldn't be right now... Obviously tennis is my No. 1 priority, and I want to kind of get to a higher level and focus only on that right now. Maybe toward the end of my career or once I'm retired, I will definitely need something to do, so I will keep myself busy."

What she'd be doing if it weren't tennis: "I've always joked that I would open my own bakery. Because I can't cook, but but the only thing I can do is bake... My siblings make fun of me, imagining that I'd get so fat eating my cookies and other things like that."

About her current Colgate endorsement: "A smile is so important, and it really shows the world that you are confident."

Regarding the tedium of staying fit for a full season: "As dreadful and boring as they are, you have to do these exercises in the gym... Even though we have tournaments, it's important to do them during those as well... It's important to keep that constant regimen throughout the year."

And 2017 is another year. Here comes Genie.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.