TORONTO, January 29, 2020 (Tennis Canada Press Relase)
Tennis Canada announced on Tuesday that Bianca Andreescu (Mississauga, ON), Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa, ON), Eugenie Bouchard (Montreal, QC) and Leylah Annie Fernandez (Laval, QC) will represent Team Canada in the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Qualifier against Switzerland on February 7 and 8. The tie will be played on the hard courts of the Swiss Tennis Arena in Biel, Switzerland.
“The team is looking forward to playing in Biel,” commented Fed Cup captain Heidi El Tabakh. “The girls had some good results to start the year and I now hope they will carry that energy into this tie. Switzerland has a very tough team and will have the support of a home crowd, but I know that our team will fight until the very last ball with the goal of qualifying for the Fed Cup Finals in Budapest.”
Grand Slam winner in 2019 🏆 #FedCup champion in 2020 ❓ @Bandreescu_ spearheads a strong @TennisCanada team ahead of their #FedCup Qualifier in Switzerland… pic.twitter.com/wo7eaPQreB
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) January 28, 2020
Andreescu will be part of Canada’s Fed Cup team for the first time since she shone in the World Group II play-off against the Netherlands in 2019. In s’Hertogenbosch, the teenager won the first rubber against Richel Hogenkamp and the third rubber versus Arantxa Rus to help the team on its way to a resounding 4-0 victory. The reigning Indian Wells, Rogers Cup presented by National Bank and US Open champion, ranked No. 6 on the WTA Tour, has played in eight ties in total and holds a 7-3 record in singles.
The team will also be able to count on doubles specialist Dabrowski. Playing in her 14th Fed Cup tie, the 27-year-old holds a record of 7-6 in doubles action. The two-time mixed-doubles Grand Slam champion has been a member of Canada’s Fed Cup team since 2013 and most recently represented her country at the World Group play-off against the Czech Republic in April 2019.
Joining the team for the first time in two years is 25-year-old Bouchard, who holds a 12-4 record in Fed Cup singles action. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist’s previous outing for Canada’s Fed Cup team was against Ukraine in the 2018 World Group II play-off. There, Bouchard won matches against Kateryna Bondarenko and Lesia Tsurenko as Canada claimed a 3-2 victory.
Rounding out the team is 17-year-old Fernandez, who will be playing in just her second Fed Cup tie. Fernandez’s first taste of representing Canada’s Fed Cup team came in last year’s World Group play-off defeat to the Czech Republic. The reigning French Open junior and Gatineau Challenger champion put on an impressive display against favourite Marketa Vondrousova in that tie in Prostejov.
Should Team Canada defeat Switzerland, they will qualify for the Fed Cup Finals in Budapest, Hungary in April. Defeat will see them take part in a play-off tie against one of the winning Regional Group I nations.
Belinda Bencic, Jil Teichmann, Viktorija Golubic, Stefanie Voegele and Timea Bacsinszky will represent Team Switzerland.
All matches from the tie will be broadcast live in Canada in English on Sportsnet One and French on TVA Sports.
