Noëlle Van Lottum appointed Head Coach for the GB National Tennis Academy at University of Stirling

Noëlle, who will begin working with the academy in January 2022, is the former National Coach for the French Tennis Federation and previously ran her own coaching academy.

As a player, Noëlle represented France in the Fed Cup and was ranked in the WTA top 50 in in 1993. She followed a similar journey to the aspiring GB National Tennis Academy players by moving to the French National Centre at the age of 14 at the same time as future Grand Slam winner Mary Pierce. Noëlle enjoyed a successful junior career including girl’s singles runner-up at the US Open and Wimbledon semi-finalist as well as winning the European Junior Championships and being ITF Junior World No. 2. In her senior career Noëlle reached the world top 50, won two WTA titles and boasts wins over two former world No. 1s, Justin Henin and Amelie Mauresmo.

On finishing her playing career, Noëlle set up her own academy where she was Head Coach. Throughout her coaching journey, Noëlle worked with the national grassroot programme in France, coaching both junior players and professional players, including several ATP top 100-ranked men’s and women’s players. Noëlle’s most recent coaching achievement was helping Océane Babel to rise from an ITF junior ranking of 980 to world junior No. 6 over a period of two years. Her expert coaching ability also helped seven-year-old, Moos Sporken, to be the European Champion and No. 1 in Tennis Europe.

Noëlle will lead the academy coaching team at the University of Stirling, one of two national academies in the UK, alongside academy coach consultant Colin Fleming, who has been acting as the Interim Head Coach. The programme includes some of Britain’s highest potential junior players, where the scholar-athletes have the opportunity to follow a dual career pathway studying at one of the country’s leading independent schools, Dollar Academy.

Noëlle Van Lottum, GB National Tennis Academy Head Coach:

"I am honoured to be appointed Head Coach of the GB National Tennis Academy with Tennis Scotland at the University of Stirling. I am looking forward to getting to know the players, coaches and staff, as well as immersing myself in the Scottish and British tennis community. Together we have a wonderful opportunity to develop the next generation of tennis players.

"I’m very passionate about player development and Stirling provides a fantastic opportunity for players and staff to work in an idyllic performance environment. I am very excited to be working alongside Colin who has done a great job on an interim basis. I am also looking forward to working with the rest of the fantastic coaching, science and medicine teams at the academy, and the staff at Tennis Scotland and the LTA, all of whom will bring different strengths and experiences to the programme which will help provide young players with a truly world-class tennis education."

Blane Dodds, Tennis Scotland Chief Executive:

"Noëlle brings with her a wealth of experience as an Academy Head Coach, National Coach with the French Tennis Federation as well as being a former top 50 WTA player and we are delighted to appoint such a high-quality coach to lead our Academy programme. Our recruitment process for this key role was thorough and we have excellent references from some of the most respected names in the game, including former Grand Slam winner and current ITF Board member Mary Pierce, former ATP No. 44 Thierry Champion and Younes el Aynaoui, the former ATP No. 14 and French Tennis Federation coach.

"Not only do we have confidence that we’ve made an outstanding appointment, we also believe this appointment complements the existing coaching team who will all provide invaluable support, insight and skillsets.

"With Scotland and Great Britain enjoying such unprecedented levels of success in recent years in world tennis, this is a timely appointment to build further momentum in our performance programmes for future generations."

The GB National Tennis Academy at the University of Stirling is a key part of the LTA’s performance pathway focussed on creating a seamless pathway for champions that will nurture a diverse team of players and people.