The moment occurred live at Wimbledon during Grigor Dimitrov’s clash against Matteo Berrettini
Eugenie Bouchard has ventured into broadcasting since ending her tennis career(Image: Getty)
Commentator Andrew Castle playfully told Eugenie Bouchard she was “fired” during the BBC’s live Wimbledon coverage on Saturday evening.
Bouchard was providing courtside analysis of Grigor Dimitrov’s third-round encounter with Matteo Berrettini on Centre Court. The former tennis professional joined the BBC for the first time to work on the 2026 Championships, and found herself in the hot seat after failing to translate when Berrettini launched into a tirade at his box late in the second set.
During a changeover, Castle asked Bouchard: “Do you speak Italian?” The 2014 ladies’ singles finalist replied: “I do not but I see a lot going back and forth between Berrettini and his box, which is right behind me.
“Unfortunately only English and French I can do for you guys.” Castle responded: “I don’t know, it’s the Italian we’re looking for Genie.” Bouchard then quipped: “Is that it, am I fired?”
Laughter erupted on both sides of the court as Castle declared: “That’s it, thank you for coming, you’re fired.” Bouchard rounded off the exchange, saying: “It was a good run, thank you for having me anyway. I’ll just see myself out.”
Grigor Dimitrov will battle Arthur Fery in the next round at Wimbledon(Image: Getty Images)
Castle was on the verge of closing the conversation with “goodbye, enjoy your dinner” when Tim Henman stepped in to defend Bouchard, chipping in with: “Don’t do that.” Dimitrov has firmly captured the affections of SW19 crowds, having won over the Wimbledon faithful during last year’s tournament.
The Bulgarian endured a heartbreaking pectoral injury while leading by two sets against eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the fourth round, and was cruelly forced to retire from the match.
Yet he is refusing to allow that experience to weigh on him this time around. Dimitrov said: “I think when I say I’ve suffered through my career with minor injuries, big injury, what happened last year and all that, why am I here if I’m not putting everything on the line again?
Eugenie Bouchard retired from tennis last year(Image: PA)
“If I don’t have that, then there’s not going to be a point for me to be competing anymore sort of on the biggest stage of our sport, here at Wimbledon. Again, anything can happen. I can get injured again. You can slip. You might have an off day.
“Those things are just as vital, they’re there. But you have to, like, push yourself mentally to stay as fresh as possible, aware as possible, and really dig down and ask yourself the questions, what you really want, and how do you want to go about doing your business.”
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