Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

The world of tennis has been shocked by the news that Eugenie Bouchard’s lawyers have filed suit against the United States Tennis Association for damages, alleging they were negligent in creating the conditions to fall and suffer injuries to the head during the recent US Open.

Bouchard’s law suit has been filed at the US District Court in Brooklyn and is said to seek unspecified monetary damages, although early reports maintain the amount could be substantial. “We could be talking about millions and millions,” said the 21 year-old’s lawyer Benedict Morelli.

According to Morelli, the one-time world no.5 and Wimbledon runner up whose poor run of form in 2015 has seen her slip down to 39th position on the WTA rankings has reportedly suffered severe pain and economic loss since the incident on September 4.

Bouchard scratched from her match against eventual runner up Roberta Vinci in the round of 16 in New York and then last week was forced to retire from her first match at the China Open in Beijing against Andrea Petkovic early in the second set after losing the first.

According to the deposition made by Bouchard, her fall was caused by “a slippery, foreign and dangerous substance on the floor.” Morelli told the New York Times that tournament was responsible for this and no previous warning had been given to the player.

Morelli believed the substance was a cleaning agent that was intended to be left on the floor overnight when the room would no longer be used. However she added: “If they were going to do that, they should have closed the door and locked it off. And they didn’t do that.”

Bouchard is asking for a jury trial.

The USTA’s policy is not to comment on active litigation according to Chris Widmaier, managing director of corporate communications.

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.