The tie will take place in Serbia on April 17-18, 2020
Montreal, February 11, 2020 –
It was on Tuesday in London that the International Tennis Federation
(ITF) held the official draw for the 2020 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas
play-offs. The Canadian team was drawn against
Serbia, who will host the tie on April 17 and 18, 2020. The choice of
surface, the venue as well as the players nominated for each team will
be announced at a later date.
Up against a top form Swiss team last week in Biel, Canada fell by a
score of 3-1 in the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Qualifiers, thus falling
short of a spot in the inaugural Fed Cup Finals in April. The Canadian
team composed of Bianca Andreescu, Eugenie Bouchard,
Leylah Annie Fernandez and Gabriela Dabrowski were considered the
underdogs, as both Andreescu and Bouchard were unable to compete due to
injury, leaving 17-year-old Fernandez as the No. 1 player. In only her
second career Fed Cup tie, Fernandez managed to
cause the upset against the no. 5 player in the world Belinda Bencic to
notch her team’s only point in the tie. Despite the tough challenge in
Switzerland, the Canadian team gave it their best effort until the very
end.
Canada is now set to face Serbia, who emerged as one of the winners from
the Europe/Africa Zonal Group. This will be the third meeting between
the two nations, with their head-to-head tied at one win each. Canada
was victorious in their last encounter by a
score of 3-1 in the World Group II first round in 2014. Their only
other meeting came in 2011 when Serbia edged out a 3-2 win in the World
Group II first round tie, clinching victory in the decisive doubles
match. Canada is currently ranked no. 16, while Serbia
is no. 19. The winner of this tie will secure their place for the Fed
Cup Qualifiers in 2021 while the losing nation will be relegated to
their respective regional Group I.
FED CUP PLAY-OFFS
April 17-18, 2020
Poland* vs. BRAZIL
Mexico* vs. GREAT BRITAIN
Serbia vs. CANADA
LATVIA vs. Asia/Oceania nation TBC
JAPAN* vs. Ukraine
ROMANIA* vs. Italy
Argentina* vs. KAZAKHSTAN
NETHERLANDS vs. Asia/Oceania nation TBC
The host nations are listed first, the seeded nations are in capitals.
* Host country determined by lot.
About Fed Cup by BNP Paribas
Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup
of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in
women’s sport, with 116 nations entered in 2020. It is 57 years old,
having been founded in 1963. The inaugural Fed
Cup by BNP Paribas Finals will take place in Budapest, Hungary on 14-19
April 2020. The Finals will feature 12 teams – the two finalists from
2019, the host nation, a wild card and eight qualifiers.
About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a
non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth
of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis
nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation
and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup
presented by National Bank WTA and ATP Tour events, 5 professional ATP
and ITF sanctioned events and financially supports 4 other professional
tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates
junior national training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal,
Vancouver and Calgary. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the
International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the
Canadian Paralympic Committee, and serves to administer, sponsor
and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic
Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis
Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information
on Tennis Canada please visit our Web site at:
www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Oliver Wheeler, Coordinator, Communications
owheeler@tenniscanada.com or 416-665-9777, ext. 4545