MONTREAL, April 5, 2017 (Press Release)
Tennis Canada announced Wednesday that Françoise Abanda (Montreal, QC), Bianca Andreescu (Mississauga, ON), Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa, ON), and Katherine Sebov (Toronto, ON) will represent Canada in the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group II play-off tie against Kazakhstan on April 22 and 23. The tie will be played at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal.
“We are very confident in our team for this play-off tie. Despite their youth, our girls have all performed well at Fed Cup in the past, particularly Bianca and Katherine earlier this year in Mexico,” stated Canadian Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau. “We recognize that our opponents are not to be taken lightly, as they have two players ranked in the top 50 in the world. We will be prepared for an exciting fight in Montreal.”
After making her Fed Cup debut earlier this year in Mexico, 16-year-old Bianca Andreescu will be representing her country for the second time, her first at home in Canada. She went undefeated in her first Fed Cup appearance, winning her four singles and two doubles matches. In February, she led a youthful Canadian team against Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay and Chile on route to securing their spot in the World Group II play-offs. Also making her debut in Mexico was 18-year-old Katherine Sebov. Like her compatriot, she won all four of her matches, three in singles and one in doubles. Both players have had great starts to the 2017 season on the ITF Women’s Circuit, with Sebov reaching three singles semi-finals and Andreescu winning two singles titles.
Also enjoying tremendous success this season is 25-year-old Gabriela Dabrowski, who was recently crowned doubles champion at the Miami Open, the most prestigious title of her career. The doubles specialist is currently ranked no. 19 in the world in doubles and holds a 4-6 overall record at Fed Cup, having made her first appearance in 2013. Rounding out the Canadian team is 20-year-old Françoise Abanda, who will be making her fifth Fed Cup appearance. The Montrealer earned the biggest win of her Fed Cup career in April 2015 against Romania when she defeated then world no. 33 Irina-Camelia Begu. Abanda is the squad’s top ranked singles player, currently ranked no. 189 in the world.
