Genie Bouchard’s appearance in her hometown Roger’s Cup tournament has garnered a new controversy and this time, it has nothing to do with her play on the court.

In a Journal de Montreal column, writer Mathieu Bock-Côté attacked Bouchard’s fluency in French and criticized her decision to spell her first name without an accent.

He also took her to task for calling Miami her home.

The column has garnered a backlash from others in Montreal’s media. Montreal Gazette sportswriter Pat Hickey was among the critics.

“A lot of it is stupid,” he said. “The fact is, she does speak French, she does French interviews. Everybody who talks about why she doesn’t use an accent on the name Eugenie? Well, she and her sister are named two British princesses.”

It’s an oft-heard complaint among Montreal sports fans that the spotlight shines brighter on homegrown talents. After her third-round loss to Kristina Kucova on Thursday, Bouchard admitted the pressure got to her.

Former tennis pro Stephanie Dubois said putting up with local media comes with the territory.

“The match can’t always go the way you want it, but Eugenie is a role model,” she said. “Media is part of the game.”

It’s not the first time Bouchard has run afoul of members of the media in Quebec. Tennis writer Stephanie Myles pointed to other journalists such as Marc De Foy and Rejean Tremblay, who she said have unfairly criticized Bouchard throughout the tournament.

“The negative tone on the Francophone side of the media is unfortunate but it’s easy and all the people who have been ripping her, I have not seen any of them in her press conferences, asking her any questions face-to-face,” said Myles.

Cote, Tremblay and De Foy could not be reached for comment.

Sylvain Brunot, a trainer with Tennis Canada who has worked with Bouchard, said he wishes the media would give her more credit.

“I think she’s an outstanding girl, she’s funny, charming and I really like her,” he said. “I know sometimes she might say a couple of things in a press conference and people pick on them or whatever and I think sometimes she’s treated a little unfairly.”