Tennis star Bouchard bans herself on Twitter to focus on Grand Slam

Eugenie Bouchard of Canada hits a return during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open, in Melbourne, on January 17, 2015. AFP

Melbourne — Rising Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has begun a self-imposed Twitter ban for the Australian Open as she seeks to limit distractions during the season-opening Grand Slam.

The world number seven, a prolific social media user, said she appreciated the opportunity that platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram gave to interact with her fans.

But the 20-year-old said she needed to concentrate on her game during major events.

“Especially in a tournament, I try to turn everything off. If I have something funny or picture, maybe I’ll put something,” she said, adding that her agent may also make posts to her accounts during the tournament.

“I think it was LeBron James who says he turns off his phone during the playoffs. Maybe I should do something like that,” she added. “It’s a little extreme. But it’s really important to stay in your bubble.”

Bouchard has 400,000 Twitter followers and almost a million likes on Facebook but has a long way to go to match Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Nadal has 14.9 million likes on Facebook, just ahead of Federer’s 14.8 million.