The rain had stopped in Montreal on Friday afternoon. At the gates of the weekend, Sylvain Bruneau had two towels in his hands to wipe the seats on which the conversation would take place, in the second row of bleachers on the edge of the center court of the IGA stadium.
A ground he has trodden thousands of times. Over time, it became his office. An empty stadium is both intimidating and poetic. Like an abandoned stage after a play. Or a house emptied of its furniture that we are about to leave.
By leaving her role as head of women’s tennis at the national federation for that of analyst at the Sports Network (RDS), Bruneau is leaving her second home in a way. Where his memories piled up and where he realized his dreams.
“It’s a big part of my life. Almost everything I’ve done in tennis, I’ve done at Tennis Canada,” Bruneau explains, foot propped up on the seat in front of him.
He came to Tennis Canada at the age of 23 in 1988 for casual duties. Ten years later, he became a full-time employee.
“I was there at a time when we were, honestly, not very good at tennis. And I was also part of the transformation. I went through all the stages. I have a feeling of accomplishment. But I’m not leaving with a bittersweet feeling or because I’m fed up. I still would have had the motivation. »
The Quebecer will now act as an analyst of tennis matches at RDS. He had already tried the experience between 2015 and 2017, just before joining the entourage of Bianca Andreescu. The network repatriated him after his separation from the player in June 2021.
“I liked it and it helped me in my coaching with Bianca to watch so many men’s games. It helped me shape his game,” he explains.
The reconciliation of his employment at Tennis Canada and that at RDS had become too difficult to manage, however, he admits. Between his presence on the air and his travels to supervise his players, the schedule and the workload had become unsustainable.
“It’s very demanding physically and mentally, the role I had here at Tennis Canada. Then I had conversations with Tennis Canada about how we could do a wedding. We did that for a while, but I thought it was way too much. »
He then turned to his family. “I had to make a very difficult choice. »
Because ultimately, he had sworn to himself, after his crazy epic alongside Andreescu, never again to be absent and away for so long. In order to be closer to his wife and daughters. However, with the overlapping of his mandates as coach and analyst, he no longer felt able to respect his commitment.
“My family remains my priority,” he said.
Bruneau has already proven himself on television. His experience and his vocabulary make him a safe bet for RDS, which can already count on “an exceptional team”.
“Sometimes I’m afraid of being too technical. I feel like going somewhere, but sometimes I wonder if I’m going to lose people, because it’s too far. I try to find a balance,” he explains.
By his own admission, Bruneau is incapable of watching a game just for fun, without analyzing every move, every decision, every strategy. Like a director in front of a film at the cinema. From now on, he will be able to do so while educating Quebec tennis fans, by popularizing everything that goes through the mind of a coach of his caliber.
“I think the analyst role is important. Make tennis known and loved. Share a vision, an experience and a strategy. And to discover tennis through the work of an analyst. It’s part of the promotion of sport and it concerns me. Develop tennis other than by the result. »
Even though Bruneau has built his fame and reputation over more than three decades, the year 2019 has truly propelled him to stardom.
The three titles won by Andreescu that year marked the spirits. We talk about it with nostalgia, as if these memories belonged to another era, but that was barely four years ago.
Many people remember seeing Bruneau squatting in front of the then 18-year-old Andreescu, shouting at her: I want it so bad!, alluding to the Indian Wells tournament trophy in the middle of the final.
Fans still remember his victory at the National Bank Open in Toronto a few months later.
Everyone remembers where he was when, in the weeks that followed, the Canadian became a Grand Slam champion at the United States Open.
That final in New York completely changed Bruneau’s trajectory and influence. However, he says he never watched this match against Serena Williams afterwards. No doubt to preserve an intact memory of this grandiose moment. He especially remembers the frightening noise and the electricity in the air.
But a bit like Roch Voisine with Hélène or Céline Dion with My Heart Will Go On, Bruneau is a little taken with this success.
Instinctively, this is the first subject you think of when discussing your career.
“It’s normal that people keep coming back to this. I’m not tired of talking about it,” he said.
However, this experience is not necessarily what comes to mind when he recalls the year 2019, he admits. “I mostly think about the path to get there. When I think back to Bianca, I don’t just land the US Open in my thoughts. I fall back into banal moments, which no one saw, when she was in small tournaments and she was rising. »
If he managed to guide her to such a triumph, it is thanks to his children. Because we always come back.
Today, he wants to return the favor to his loved ones.
Returning to the tunnel through which the players arrive on the central, Bruneau gives the impression of walking lighter. And do it with your head held high.
In December, he will leave this stadium once and for all, where a souvenir could be placed on each seat. The Dutch Noelle van Lottum will take her place.
“Good things have happened here. I think I leave a beautiful project to Noëlle. »
