(Toronto) Tennis Canada announced Saturday the players who will wear the colors of its team during the Finals of the Billie Jean King Cup, which will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.
Posted at 11:16 a.m.
Leylah Annie Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu, Gabriela Dabrowski, Rebecca Marino and Carol Zhao have been selected to Team Canada to compete in the competition, which runs from November 8-13.
Canada will be in Group A, alongside Switzerland and Italy, in the round robin.
The Maple Leaf representatives’ first game will be on November 10, against Italy. They will then cross swords against Switzerland the next day. The winning team from Group A will advance to the semi-finals.
Fernandez, who occupies the 38e rank in the WTA rankings, played an important role in Canada’s qualification for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with two singles victories against Latvia in Vancouver last April.
The 20-year-old Quebecer reached the U.S. Open final in 2021 and has won two career titles on the WTA Tour.
Andreescu, 57e in the world, will take part in a Jean King Bille Cup matchup for the first time since 2019. The Ontarian is 7-3 in singles and 3-0 in doubles at this competition.
PHOTO FRANK FRANKLIN II, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Bianca Andreescu
In 2019, Andreescu participated in the sweep of Canada against the Netherlands by winning his two singles duels. That year, she also won the US Open.
Marino, who also played a crucial role in Canada’s win over Latvia, hopes to build on that momentum in Glasgow. The 31-year-old made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in 2011 and has made seven other appearances.
Marino is coming off his best run at a Grand Slam tournament recently, advancing to the third round of the US Open. She also managed to climb into the top 100 worldwide, whereas it now finds itself at 79e rung.
Dabrowski, eighth player in the world in doubles, will represent Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup for an 18e time. She made her debut in 2013 and is 9-7 in doubles.
Zhao, 171e in the world, will be making her fifth appearance since her first in 2016. She and Dabrowski won 6-1, 6-3 over Latvia in the spring. Zhao boasts a 3-1 doubles record at the Billie Jean King Cup.
For personal reasons, the captain of the Canadian team of the competition, Heidi El Tabakh, will not be able to attend the Finals. Former Tennis Canada captain and head of performance and women’s professional and transitional tennis, Sylvain Bruneau, will lead the team in Glasgow. El Tabakh will resume his role as captain for the upcoming matches.