Bouchard had just played in a mixed doubles match when she returned to the locker room at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in Queens shortly after 10pm. Minutes later, she fell on the tile floor of a physiotherapy room inside the locker room.
The incident led her to miss the 2015 edition of the Hong Kong Tennis Open for a second consecutive year after being schedule to participate.
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She told a jury in federal court in Brooklyn that she had taken two steps into the training area en route to take an ice bath when she lost her footing “and hit the back of my head on the floor.” She recalled being in “shock” as she found herself “staring at the ceiling.”
Bouchard was diagnosed with a concussion after falling in a locker room in New York. Photo: AP
The 23-year-old Canadian player testified she also felt a burning sensation on her skin from what her lawyers say was a powerful cleaning solution left on the floor.
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A lawsuit filed in 2015 accused the USTA of failing to take proper steps to warn Bouchard and other players that the floor was wet. Lawyers for the USTA counter that she should have known not to enter the area without being accompanied by a trainer or other tournament personnel and that the cleaning crew believed all the players had left for the night.
Bouchard leaves Brooklyn Federal court with her mother. Photo: AP
