‘I’m sharing my gift to the world’: Quebec ex-pro tennis star drops two new singles

Born just 30 minutes after Christmas Day and named Noëlly to match, the holidays have always been her season, and the former pro tennis star turned celebration into creation, releasing her first Christmas single, “Christmas Just Wouldn’t be Christmas Without You”.

Originally written by Chris Maule, Nsimba says she jumped on the opportunity to turn the track from a traditional Christmas song into a whimsy and modern version after she was approached by Capriotti to work on the project.

“I listened to it and I loved it instantly,” said Nsimba. “I worked in my home studio, recorded it, added some harmonies and stuff like that to make it special.”

Along with her new Christmas tune, Nsimba also released an original track of her own entitled “True Love”, which she says serves as an ode to her late-uncle, André Lukombo, who tragically passed after losing his battle to pancreatic cancer.

“It’s a song that evokes true love, basically grief, that even through grief, there’s still love beyond that,” Nsimba began to explain.

“It’s really to help people that went through grief or that are going through grief to hold onto these memories and to not forget that love never disappears, it always stays inside of us.”

After competing in WTA tournaments all over the world between 2018 and 2023, Noëlly Nsimba marked her official transition to music when she swapped her racket for a guitar when she performed “O Canada” live at the Canadian Women’s Open in July 2025.

“It was magical. It was really special to me because I got to combine both of my passions, tennis, and music. So, it was really an honor for me to be able to sing there, and though I transitioned to singing, tennis is always a part of me,” said Nsimba of the special moment, which she described as one of the most important in her life.

She even released her first single that same summer called “4 Da Love of Tennis”, which she wrote back in 2021 during COVID, that she says came to her during an impromptu moment of inspiration.

“I was working at a hospital to help out around, and I had this idea through a ‘game, set, match’ and I was like, OK, let me write it down before I forget it. So, I had different ideas throughout the day and then once I finished my shift, I went home and worked on it, put it together.”

The singer-songwriter even found a way to give back in the process, as the streaming proceeds for the single helped to support the Love & Love Tennis Foundation established by Hall of Famer Rosie Casals and Tory Fretz, that helps to promote youth tennis programs.

“The mission of her nonprofit makes total sense with tennis and the song. So we’re like, OK, let’s actually give Lisa the song to her nonprofit so we can support the cost,” she said.

And Nsimba says she’s not stopping at four singles or performing any time soon, as she hopes to be reinvited to sing the national anthem again this summer as the men’s tennis tour makes its stop in Montreal.

And if she has it her way, she’ll be singing the national anthem at the Montreal Canadians game versus the New York Islanders, happening later this year in February.

“We can expect more creativity, whether it’s music, cakes, coaching and all things that fascinate me,” Nsimba said while smiling.