A deep and complete roster leads Canada into the Billie Jean King Cup Finals from Glasgow, Scotland and perhaps for the first time in the team’s history, there are strong title aspirations.
Leylah Annie Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu, Rebecca Marino, Carol Zhao, and Gabriela Dabrowski will don the red and white this week in the international competition that boasts the world’s 12 best countries in tennis.
From the outside, it looks like the perfect blend of youth, experience, and winning pedigree.
Andreescu is a U.S. Open champion, Fernandez a U.S. Open finalist, and Dabrowski is a world-class top 10 doubles player and two-time major winner.
Rebecca Marino is a big-serving veteran who’s tallied a career-high in wins with 49 season and returned to the top 70 of the rankings for the first time since 2012, while Toronto’s Carol Zhao has had a welcome return to the tour after battling injuries in previous years, winning two ITF titles this summer, and moving back inside the top 200. “We have probably the best lineup we’ve ever had,” said interim captain Sylvain Bruneau, who is plenty familiar with big stages in tennis.
“I think we’re going to be very competitive, and we do have belief we can do really well.”
Bruneau previously coached Andreescu and helped her to a breakthrough 2019 season, where she won three titles and became a major champion.
That victory is one of many standout moments for Canadian tennis players over the last handful of years.
Fernandez would follow suit two seasons later, making the finals at Flushing Meadows.
Last year, Denis Shapovalov reached the semifinals of Wimbledon.
As of late, Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is coming off an incredible stretch winning three consecutive ATP singles titles and 16 straight matches.
“I think it’s been great moments for Canadian tennis overall – you see what Felix did recently. If you are a tennis fan in Canada, these are the best years. Hopefully, we can give them something more to cheer on this week. That’s the plan.”
Bruneau will have his hands full making his match selections this week.
Fernandez is currently the highest-ranked singles player on the team at World No. 40 and has been formidable in Billie Jean King Cup play. She’s a perfect 5-0 over her last five singles matches and helped clinch Canada’s berth into the finals back in April with a win over Latvia.
Meanwhile, Andreescu is back at this event for the first time since 2019. She returned to tour action earlier this May after a six-month layoff from the sport.
The break allowed her to feel mentally and physically refreshed and has begun to yield positive results. Andreescu reached a WTA singles final in June at the Bad Homburg Open and posted a 19-12 record across 31 matches.
“This year has been very good in my eyes. Just the way I have an outlook on everything compared to last year.”
The 22-year-old says she’s striving for a return to the top 10 next season, believing it’s an achievable goal over six months.
“I definitely don’t like having a 46 next to my name,” smirked Andreescu.
If Canada is unable to win on the strength of singles alone, they have a key weapon in the wings with Dabrowski.
The doubles world No. 6 player travelled to the Finals in Scotland from Fort Worth, Texas where she and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico competed in the end-of-year WTA Finals.
The pair had a great season together, winning a WTA1000 title in Madrid on clay and a WTA500 trophy on hard court at the Pan Pacific Open in Japan.
Dabrowski provides great energy on the court to go along with her powerful presence at the net and reliable serve. She also feels confident in the group assembled this week.
“I think the makeup of this team is incredible and the camaraderie is amazing,” said the doubles star.
Bruneau will have options to consider, as Dabrowski has successfully paired with both Andreescu and Marino in the past.
Fernandez has never played a doubles match at Billie Jean King Cup but did reach the semi-finals in doubles at Indian Wells back in March alongside Alize Cornet of France.
The challenge begins immediately as Canada sits in Group A with Switzerland and Italy. They’ll open play against Italy on Thursday, a squad led by recent French Open semi-finalist Martina Trevisan and three-time WTA singles winner Camila Giorgi.
On Friday they meet Switzerland, who finished runner-up to the Russian Tennis Federation last season.
That team is led by Tokyo 2020 gold-medallist and world no. 13, Belinda Bencic – a player Fernandez has become quite familiar with this season.
The two have played twice in 2022 – both thrilling three set encounters.
Fernandez won the first, defeating Bencic 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in the third round of Roland Garros back in May.
The Swiss star recently avenged that loss just three weeks ago with a 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 victory in Guadalajara. “Honestly, I think it would be a great matchup”, said Fernandez.
“Whoever is going to play Bencic, it’s going to be a hard match. She’s very aggressive – I know that both of our teams are going to bring our best tennis.”
For Sylvain Bruneau, who must watch all the action unfold from the sidelines and provide input where he can, he’ll entrust his players to rise to the occasion in the toughest of matches.
“They handle those (pressure) moments really well,” said Bruneau.
“And they love to represent their country, all of them, which is a great asset.”
Canada has never won a Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup) title, with its best showing coming back in 1988, making a surprise run to the semifinals.
With this edition’s talented and hungry roster, only an early exit might surprise.
The tournament begins on Tuesday.
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