Venus Williams continues to inspire Canada's Francoise Abanda
Hopes to motivate young girls just as the American star motivated Montrealer
After a standout junior career that saw her ranked as high as No.4 in the world, Francoise Abanda appears to have found her groove on the WTA Tour this season.
The Canadian has a record of 15-11 on the year, including a pair of second-round appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Abanda credits her success to a renewed focus on fitness. The Montreal native hired a new trainer, whose work she says improved her on-court movement and put her in great shape to overcome the taxing qualification rounds she needed to win to earn a spot in the singles main draw of Grand Slams.
Abanda is currently ranked 132nd, the second-highest female Canadian, and at this rate, appears to be a fixture on the tour for years to come.
But it wasn't too long ago that Abanda was the new kid on the block learning about life as a professional tennis player.
Childhood idol
Three years ago, the Montrealer squared off against childhood idol, Venus Williams, at the Coupe Banque Nationale tournament in Quebec City.
While Abanda held her own in a 5-7, 3-6 straight sets defeat, the magnitude of that moment was never lost on her.
"To play [against] her was weird because I remember as a child, I always watched her on TV play in the [Grand] Slams. It was super special, kind of overwhelming for me at the time — I was 17," recalls Abanda.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion had nothing but kind words for Abanda after the match saying that she expected a competitive match having seen the Canadian play before.
Hearing the American's compliments motivated Abanda to elevate her game to new heights and Williams' continued success at the age of 37 keeps pushing the Canadian.
"I keep telling my mom, 'How is she still making the final of Grand Slams?' It's so tough to make a final or semifinal. It's very inspiring what she's doing and I have a lot of respect for her because it's a very tough sport to keep coming up with results and performing every time," said Abanda.
Playing for a greater purpose
Just as Williams served as one of her role models, Abanda hopes to inspire the younger generation.
Knowing that a lot of young kids look up to her and watch her play is an important reason why Abanda's plays Fed Cup tennis for Canada.
"When I was seven, eight-years-old, I was watching these pros and wanted to be just like them. It gives you a boost and motivation. They encouraged you to keep going [after your dreams]," remembers Abanda.
"Now that I'm a pro, it's important for me to have a good image, give a good example, and motivate younger girls that maybe one day are going to want to play pro and compete for Canada. I'm playing for myself but also to inspire younger Canadian girls and [others] all over the world."
Earlier this year, Abanda along with fellow upcomer, Bianca Andreescu, helped secure Canada's spot in the 2018 Fed Cup World Group II, a tier below the highest level of women's international team competition.
Canada defeated Kazakhstan 3-2 with Abanda upsetting world No.51 Yaroslava Shvedova and No.31 Yulia Putintseva in singles play.
The win is a continuation of Canada's increasing mark on the tennis world and Abanda is just glad to be part of the next wave of talent from the Great White North.
"It's definitely great because we didn't have that necessarily years back. Now there's a lot more [Canadian] players on tour. Tennis is not the No.1 sport [in Canada] but we have great players ... it's a good way to encourage each other," Abanda said.
World's elite
Abanda credits a large part of her growth and Canada's development as a tennis nation to the National Training Centre (NTC) in Montreal.
Established in 2007 by Tennis Canada, the intent was to give homegrown talent a chance to not only make the pro level, but perform at a level amongst the world's elite.
Eugenie Bouchard and Milos Raonic are the most notable graduates of the program, but Abanda is one of the first to be fully groomed from the junior to pro level — joining the NTC at age 11.
"You get the opportunity to travel and everything is being paid for by the federation. It takes the weight off your shoulders and you can play free and not worry that my parents are spending so much money," Abanda said.
"You have a tutor, fitness coach, tennis coaches — the whole deal. As a young player that needs to develop, it's a good centre to start off with."
While expecting to win a Grand Slam at the age of 20 is a tough ask, it's not as far-fetched as it once was.
With Serena Williams on maternity leave, the women's tour is wide open. Jelena Ostapenko, who was ranked 47th at the time, seized the opportunity and won the French Open just days after turning 20.
"She's a really good example because I beat her twice in juniors. A lot of people weren't expecting her to blow up and win a [Grand] Slam like that," Abanda said.
"It's very inspiring what she did. As a tennis player, we all want to win a Slam. Hopefully, one day I could do that as well."