The buzz of competition still courses through Heidi El Tabakh’s veins. A wearying cycle of injury, rehabilitation, return and recurrence may have denied her the chance to realise her true potential on court, but in her new life as a coach and captain of Canada’s Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas side, she has found her passion for tennis renewed.

“Part of me really wishes I was still playing,” admits the 34-year-old, who retired from the tour in 2016. “Especially when I’m watching the girls play. It’s super-inspiring. But I’m beyond grateful for all the opportunities that I had and I’m very privileged and lucky to be in my position right now.”

Five years after hanging up her racquet, El Tabakh now oversees one of the most promising young Billie Jean King Cup squads in the competition, having succeeded Sylvain Bruneau as captain in 2018. With leading light Bianca Andreescu, rising star Leylah Fernandez, and the likes of Rebecca Marino, Genie Bouchard, Francoise Abanda, Carol Zhao, Gabriela Dabrowski and Sharon Fichman to call upon, Canada will be a match for all-comers in the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers, the last staging post before next year’s Finals.

Prior to taking over as captain, El Tabakh had been involved with various coaching programmes with Tennis Canada since 2016 including taking charge of the nation’s Junior Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas team, leading the 16-and-under squad to the 2018 Finals.

It has been a swift rise through the coaching ranks for the Egyptian-Canadian, one that speaks to the value of tour experience for coaches, the impact of a progressive national tennis infrastructure, and El Tabakh’s own willingness to commit to an unexpected chance to change gears.

“When I retired in 2016, I thought I was going to take time off and do a lot of things I wasn’t able to do when I was playing,” admits El Tabakh, whose WTA ranking peaked at No. 146, while she claimed eight ITF World Tennis Tour singles titles between 2003 and 2015.

“I wanted to travel the world and actually get to visit countries, spend more time exploring. But right away I had a good coaching opportunity – it was just for two months, and I decided to take it. From there, Tennis Canada asked me if I wanted to be involved, so I was working with them part-time. And it just progressed – the opportunities kept coming, and I realised I loved the sport a lot more than I thought!”

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, El Tabakh’s family emigrated to Canada when she was eight years old. Having initially playing under the Egyptian flag on tour, she began representing Canada in 2005.

“When we became Canadians, Tennis Canada welcomed me right away with open arms,” El Tabakh recalls. “They treated me very well, I was a part of their program, and I grew with them from there.

“With Tennis Canada, it feels like a team sport. All the coaches have a great relationship with the physios, and the physios have a great relationship with the players, so everyone knows everything about the players’ programmes. When you go on court, coaches know all about your fitness training, and then you go to the gym and the fitness trainer knows everything about your tennis training. It’s great communication.

“They also have great coaches. They develop players from a young age and really focus on players that are coming up through that pipeline. I think they have some of the best fitness trainers in the world. I think it has grown as a Federation, and I’m very excited and proud to be a part of it.”

El Tabakh is also part of the changing face of tennis coaching. In 2019, the ITF’s Global Tennis Report found that while women make up 46.9 per cent of the global tennis-playing population, only 21.4 per cent of coaches worldwide – roughly one in every five – is female. North America has the highest proportional representation of female tennis coaches at 28.7 per cent.

But in recent years there have been signs of a shift. The sight of Amelie Mauresmo in the coaching boxes of Andy Murray and Lucas Pouille, and Conchita Martinez working with Garbine Muguruza are just two examples of female coaches earning positions at the pinnacle of the sport. And in keeping with the see-it-to-be-it mantra of the competition's eponymous global ambassador, it matters that six of the top 10-ranked Billie Jean King Cup nations are captained by women.

“The truth is, I don’t know why coaching has been a male-dominant field,” El Tabakh said. “It’s definitely true – honestly, I thought 21 per cent was quite high. But it’s definitely changing. There’s a lot of up-and-coming female coaches.

“The truth is men and women are different. We have different emotions, and female coaches, I think it’s fair to say, can be a little more sensitive. To have gone through what they are going through as female tennis players, as young girls, and the transition from juniors to pros, to have experienced that all, we can relate and really help them with their struggles and their emotions.

“I’m very, very happy to see the changes that are happening right now, and to see more and more female coaches on tour – some very successful ones, and a lot of young female coaches. I think it’s going to continue that way, and that in the near future it’s going to reach 50-50.”

As for those athletes approaching the end of their playing careers, the 34-year-old is unequivocal: a swift transition into coaching can be done, and can be so rewarding.

“I would say jump directly from retirement into coaching,” El Tabakh said. “You have so much to offer, whether you realise it or not. Your experience is going to translate so well. I think playing on tour and then transitioning to being a coach gives you a big advantage over coaches who haven’t experienced those emotions on a tennis court.

“You have to be able to trust yourself too – even though you’ve played it, it is still a learning experience. You keep growing. Every year you learn new things, you meet new coaches – I personally like watching practises, seeing what different coaches do with different players and the drills they run.

“I hope to see many more female coaches out there. And if you’re harbouring any doubts, just go for it!”

As part of its Advantage All gender equality initiative, the ITF is profiling female leaders and role models from within the sport. It follows a 2020 ITF Female Leadership Survey that identified the lack of female role models as one of the greatest challenges women face in their careers.

While 47% of all tennis participants globally are women, there is still a large gender gap in coaching, officiating and sport decision-making, all the way from club level to the top of the sport. By raising the profile and sharing the experiences of female leaders from around the world, Advantage All Ambassadors aims to encourage women to pursue opportunities in tennis and fulfil their potential within the sport.

To find out more about Advantage All, click or tap here.