Françoise Abanda has hired coach Antonio Van Grichen, who has worked previously with Victoria Azarenka, Vera Zvonareva, Ana Ivanovic, and Marcos Baghdatis. The Canadian has not had a coach for the past six months.
According to *Yahoo*, Van Grichen will head to Montreal next week, where the 18-year-old player is based. It's likely that she will receive a wildcard into the Rogers Cup in Toronto in two weeks.
Abanda is currently ranked No. 323. She has played a number of Pro Circuit events this year but recorded a win over world No. 33 Irina-Camelia Begu in Fed Cup against Romania, before losing the next day to Alexandra Dulgheru in three sets. Canada lost the tie.
Last year, Abanda reached the semifinals of the junior French Open and received a wildcard into the Rogers Cup, where she fell to Dominika Cibulkova in three sets.
Canadian Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau said that Van Grichen will make sure that Abanda has the structure she needs. “He's very demanding, very rigorous, very conscientious. Those are excellent qualities, and that's what she needs at this stage," Bruneau told Yahoo. "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."