2024 Finals: Spotlight on Canada
01/10/2024 09:02
Canada enjoyed their greatest moment in this competition last November as they were crowned as champions for the first time after some thrilling performances in Seville
By Kevin Palmer
CANADA
Ranking: 1
Champions: 2023
THE HISTORY
Canada enjoyed their greatest moment in this competition last November as they were crowned as champions for the first time after some thrilling performances in Seville.
Their previous best run saw them reach the semi-finals in 1988 and the quarter-finals on four occasions in 1964, 1967, 1987 and 2015.
RECORD BREAKERS
Aleksandra Wozniak dominates the Billie Jean King Cup record books for Canada, with the most wins (40) and most singles wins (32). She also played more ties than any other player from her nation (36) after she made her debut in 2004 and played her last match in 2016.
Canada's overall record in this competition stands at 111 wins and 73 defeats.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED
Canada gained automatic entry into this year's Billie Jean King Cup Finals after their win in the competition last year.
MEET THE CAPTAIN - Heidi El Tabakh
Heidi El Tabakh became the first female captain to lead their team to victory in Billie Jean King Cup since Kathy Rinaldi in 2017 and now she has set her sights on helping Canada become the first nation to successfully defend the trophy since Czechia in 2016.
She won seven titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour during her playing career and made two appearances in the main draw at the French Open.
El Tabakh retired from tennis in 2016 and was been involved with coaching different programmes at Tennis Canada and also captained the Canadian Junior Fed Cup team (16 years and under), before being named as Billie Jean King Cup captain in 2019.
Her success in masterminding a title triumph last season was a highlight of her career and she is relishing the chance to strive for a repeat in Malaga.
"Winning the Billie Jean King Cup was a dream come true for us and it felt like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis," said El Tabakh after Canada's win last year.
"I was incredibly proud of every single girl in the team. It was a pleasure sharing the court with them all week and everyone who is here currently has been a huge asset to the Canadian team throughout the years. We wouldn't be here without every single one of them.
"I hope our win will inspire a lot of young girls and young kids to pick up the racquet and say 'one day we could do this'.
"We're one of the leading sports in Canada right now and because of what these girls did, I hope that we continue to inspire and motivate young kids."
Now the Canada captain has turned her attention to defending the title as she added: "Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca (Andreescu) joining Leylah (Fernandez), Gaby (Dabrowski), Rebecca (Marino), and Marina (Stakusic), making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
"At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we'll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year's Finals."
WHO'S IN THE TEAM?
Leylah Fernandez was an inspirational leader of the Canada team as they won the Billie Jean King Cup title last November and the 2021 US Open runner-up will be eager to peak once again in Malaga after a stellar 2024 that saw her make impressive progress up the WTA rankings.
"We worked really hard as a team in the past years and I think every year, we just keep improving," said Fernandez, as she reflected on last year's Billie Jean King Cup Finals win in Seville.
"It's showing in competitions, individual competitions. Now it has shown on the biggest stage in the world in the Billie Jean King Cup."
Marina Stakusic combined with Fernandez to guide Canada to glory last year and she will be back in the team for the Finals.
The return of Bianca Andreescu adds additional options for captain El Tabakh, with Gabriela Dabrowski crucial to their doubles strategy.
