"Genie's Army" will have to find their own way to the WTA Finals in Singapore.
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In a case of a nice gesture turning into a PR headache, Tennis Canada paid for airfare and lodging to send members of the originial "Genie's Army" from Australia to this week's Rogers Cup WTA event in Montreal to support their favorite player Canada's Eugenie Bouchard. The fan group originally started back in January at the Australian Open where Bouchard reached her first ever Grand Slam semifinal.
But when American qualifier Shelby Rogers upset Bouchard in the second round on Tuesday, that's when the PR headache began.
After Bouchard's loss, The Globe and Mail reported that the WTA was prepared to fly "Genie's Army" all the way to Singapore later this year for the WTA Finals. That sparked a wave of surprised responses from tennis fans and reporters on social media. The reality is that the WTA has no plans to do anything like that.
The confusion appears to have started after WTA chariman and CEO Stacey Allasater spoke about Bouchard and the amount of support she receives from her fans.
"She (Bouchard) really engages with the fans. We just have to look that the Genie's Army has flown here from Australia to support her here at home in Montreal. They'll do the same if she makes it to the WTA Finals in Singapore." Allastar added, "If Genie makes it to Singapore, we want to bring the Genie's Army there."
The WTA quickly denied that they planned to fly the fan group out to Singapore after issuing the following message on Twitter.
Sports Business Daily reported in the same week that members of the original "Genie's Army" are seeking to trademark their name in order to pursue business opportunities.