Leylah Fernandez leads Canada into Billie Jean King Cup tie vs. Latvia

Fresh off a championship at the Monterrey Open, Leylah Fernandez will headline Canada's team for a Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Latvia next month in Vancouver.

Fernandez, who fought off five match points to beat Colombia's Camila Osorio on Sunday at the Mexican event, will join Vancouver's Rebecca Marino, Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski, Montreal's Francoise Abanda and Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., in the tie, April 15-16 at the Pacific Coliseum.

“I’m really excited to be playing at this year’s Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers,” said Fernandez, who is ranked 21st in the world. “I always have so much fun playing at these ties and I’m excited to finally be able to do it on home soil. Wearing the Canadian colours on court is always an honour and I can’t wait to do it in front of a Canadian crowd.”

Bianca Andreescu, Canada's No. 2-ranked singles player at No. 44, is not on the squad. She has not played this season.

Dabrowski is Canada's top-ranked doubles player at No. 9.

Marino is No. 123 in singles and is coming off a Challenger event title on Sunday in California.

Canada and Latvia will clash for the first time in Billie Jean King Cup competition.

Latvia has not yet named its team. The country is led by world No. 12 singles player Jelena Ostapenko.

The winner of the Canada-Latvia tie advances to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November.

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