Tennis Canada announces Noelle Van Lottum as new Head Women’s National Coach; Sylvain Bruneau to depart organization at end of 2023

Van Lottum will replace Bruneau, who recently transitioned to a high-performance consultancy position for the remainder of the year.

On Wednesday Tennis Canada announced that Noelle Van Lottum will join Tennis Canada as its new Head Women’s National Coach. Previous Head of Women’s Pro and Transition Tennis Sylvain Bruneau will remain in a consulting role, before departing the organization at the end of the year.

In April, Bruneau began transitioning into a high-performance consultancy role as he will be dedicating more time to his increased responsibilities as a TV commentator for RDS. He will remain with Tennis Canada in a consulting role until the end of 2023, agreeing to help facilitate Van Lottum’s transition into her new role.

“I will forever cherish my time at Tennis Canada, where I was able to accomplish so much over the years,” said Sylvain Bruneau. “It’s fantastic to see the strides we’ve been able to make in progressing high performance women’s tennis in Canada. Fans of women tennis in Canada have plenty to look forward to in the coming years with the outstanding athletes both on the pro tour and part of Tennis Canada’s development programs.”

Bruneau’s commitment and passion to drive high performance women’s tennis in Canada saw him forge a legacy that will live on for many years to come. Among a number of exemplary accomplishments throughout his time at Tennis Canada, one of the biggest highlights was when he coached Bianca Andreescu during her epic runs to the 2019 BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells), National Bank Open presented by Rogers and US Open titles, which resulted in him receiving the Jack Donohue Coach of the Year Award that same year.

Some of Bruneau’s other notable achievements include coaching Team Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup from 2004 to 2009, and then captaining the team from 2010 to 2018. Beyond Andreescu, Bruneau also coached many of Canada’s top women’s players over the last several years, including Eugenie Bouchard, Leylah Annie Fernandez, Rebecca Marino and Aleksandra Wozniak.

Van Lottum will officially begin with Tennis Canada on September 5, 2023. She has an extensive background in tennis, both as a player and as a coach. As a professional, the Dutch native reached a WTA career-high singles ranking of No. 57 and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 59. She won a WTA singles title in Wellington in 1993 and a doubles title in Prague in 1996.

“I’m incredibly honoured and excited to begin this new journey with Tennis Canada,” said Van Lottum. “Canada’s professional women’s players have been incredible to watch perform over the last several years, and I can’t wait to keep the momentum going by working with them and the next generation of players as well.”

Van Lottum’s impressive training background includes being the National Coach at the French Tennis Federation from 2018 to 2022 before becoming the Head Coach of Performance at the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) in Great Britain. She’s coached many players at a professional level over the last 20 years, including Kiki Bertens, Petra Martic, Els Callers and Harmony Tan.

“Canadian tennis is grateful to Sylvain with his historic achievements and results.  A big thank you for all his efforts and contributions he’s made over the years on and off the court,” said Hatem McDadi, Tennis Canada’s Senior Vice-President of High Performance Development. “At the same time, we are excited to welcome Noelle to our team.  Noelle’s leadership skills, experience, and passion are impressive.  We look forward to work closely with Noelle and all involved to help support our HP athletes and take Canadian tennis to new heights.”