Françoise Abanda is considered a rising star in Canadian tennis at 18 years of age, and her new coach is fitting with her potential. Antonio Van Grichen is best known for coaching Victoria Azarenka for five years. He began working with Azarenka when she was the top junior player in the world, but only 220th in the professional rankings. At the end of their partnership, she had reached the top ten and had beaten Serena Williams to win the Miami Masters.

After he split with the Belarusian, he worked with another top ten player, Russian Vera Zvonareva. This association lasted only a couple of months after an incident at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships. During a quick loss to Azarenka, Zvonareva reportedly looked over to Sam Sumyk, her former coach and Azarenka's current one, in desperation. Van Grichen later coached Jarmila Gajdošová, a top thirty player from Slovakia (she also holds Australian citizenship). In 2014, he coached Puerto Rican Monica Puig and then Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis on the ATP tour. 

He briefly worked with another young Canadian woman, Eugenie Bouchard, on a trial basis and was with her when she broke through at Wimbledon, reaching the third round by defeating top ten player Ana Ivanovic in her first year on the pro tour, before choosing not to continue their partnership. He reportedly decided to end the trial because he was unsatisfied with the then-nineteen-year-old's work ethic, though nothing was said publicly. 

It's important for a young developing player to have a coach and that is something his newest pupil has lacked for the last six months. Canadian Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau believes that Van Grichen is worth the long wait for Abanda, according to The Eh Game. 

"Time will tell. I would have preferred he were available sooner, but it was worth the wait, rather than take someone who would have had less of an impact, but was available."

The young player has had an up and down year playing pro full time, having dropped about 120 down the world ranking from the beginning of the year. She is currently ranked 323rd. She has posted to quarterfinal appearances at $50,000 tournaments in the USA and she was brilliant playing for Canada in the Fed Cup in April. Playing in front of a partisan crowd in Montreal, Abanda defeated world number 33 Irina-Camelia Begu and took the experienced Alexandra Dulgheru to three sets. She had lost in the first round of four straight tournaments following the Fed Cup before reaching the quarterfinals again at the Challenger Banque Nationale de Gatineau, where she was a defending finalist. She lost to Alexa Glatch, the world number 155. 

Bruneau has said that Abanda was looking for structure, which Van Grichen will most certainly bring. He is known for being a serious taskmaster and his very high standards likely explain his reported issue with Bouchard, because of all the critiques towards her this year, the lack of work ethic is viewed as the most unfair.

"He's very demanding, very rigorous, very conscientious, those are excellent qualities, and that's what she needs at this stage," Bruneau said. "There are no half-measures with him, and he doesn't accept excuses. She wanted a structure, now she’ll have one. A tight one."

The 18-year-old will have a chance to experience this structure for the first time early next week in Montreal where he will begin working with her in advance of the Rogers Cup. Though nothing has been announced, it is believed that Tennis Canada will award Abanda a wildcard into the main draw of the Premier event, being held in Toronto this year (the women's and men's tournaments rotated between Montreal and Toronto).