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The scheduling and location isn’t ideal, as Canada has to head all the way to Kazakhstan April 10-11 for a Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tie.
But the roster is solid.
Victoria Mboko will lead the team, which will feature the return of Bianca Andreescu and the presence of world No. 2 doubles player Gabriela Dabrowski as they take on a pretty tough squad.
Marina Stakusic and Kayla Cross round out the team. Leylah Fernandez, once again, isn’t part of the nominations.
Canada is ranked No. 4, and Kazakhstan No. 9 in the current BJK Cup nation rankings. But the Kazakhs got home-court advantage.
The winners will advance to the final rounds in September, while the losers have to go back to the November qualifiers – as Canada did last year, beating Mexico.
Start times are Friday at 5 a.m. EDT, and Saturday at 4 a.m. EDT.
Will Rybakina play? No.
Top Kazakh Elena Rybakina owes a lot to the Kazakh tennis federation, as it was their financial support after she switched from her Russian nationality that allowed her to become the player she is.
She has played a fair amount, but not always. And she isn’t on the nominations roster for this tie.
Rybakina didn’t play the qualifiers last April in Brisbane, Australia, but she did play the finals Shenzhen, China in September.
In 2024, she skipped the April qualifier (Kazakhstan lost to Naomi Osaka and Japan) but did play the November qualifier in Astana. In 2023 she played a first-round tie against a Swiatek-less Poland, but not in the playoff rounds in Spain that fall.
The squad in April is headed by Yulia Putintsva and includes Zhibek Kulambayeva, Aruzhan Sagandykova, Sonja Zhiyenbayeva and top doubles player Anna Danilina.
So the Canadians will obviously have a lot more depth and be heavily favoured, unless Rybakina changes here mind – which isn’t likely as she’s due in Stuttgart at the start of the week, for an exhibition, several days before she might be scheduled to play in the WTA 500 tournament there.
As she did in Mexico in November, former top Canadian player Marie-Eve Pelletier will captain the team, as Heidi El Tabakh is on a maternity break.
