Photo: ITF
Dabrowski and Zhao to team up in doubles
The official draw for the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Qualifier tie between Canada and Latvia was held on Thursday to determine the match-ups for this weekend’s action. The teams will face off on an indoor hard court at the Pacific Coliseum at the PNE, in Vancouver, on April 15 and 16, with the winner advancing to the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals and the loser dropping down to the Billie Jean King Cup Play-Offs.
Led by Team Captain Heidi El Tabakh, the Canadian team presented by Sobeys consists of Leylah Annie Fernandez (Laval, QC), Rebecca Marino (Vancouver, BC), Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa, ON), Carol Zhao (Toronto, ON) and Françoise Abanda (Montreal, QC). Team Canada will take on Latvia in two singles matches on Friday and two singles matches followed by a doubles match on Saturday.
Fernandez (No. 21) and Marino (No. 111) were selected by El Tabakh to play singles, whilst Latvia’s Captain Adrians Zguns nominated Daniela Vismane and Darja Semenistaja, ranked No. 267 and No. 389 in the world respectively. In doubles, Dabrowski (No. 9 in doubles) and Zhao (No. 285) will team up for Canada against Diana Marcinkevica (No. 228 in doubles) and Liga Dekmeijere (No. 1077 in doubles).
“To play in front of a home crowd is great and [we feel like we] are going to get some goosebumps when walking on the court. It’s very exciting, the players are really excited and we all look forward to it,” commented captain Heidi El Tabakh. “[The Latvian team] have a lot of good depth in their players and have a lot of upcoming players, young juniors. I think it’s going to be a battle no matter what, but we are up for a tough competition and we will be ready.”
Today’s draw produced the following weekend match-ups:
| Event | Representing Canada | Representing Latvia |
| 1st Singles Rubber–Friday, April 15–3:45 PM (Pacific time) | Leylah Annie Fernandez | Darja Semenistaja |
| Followed by 2nd Singles Rubber–Friday, April 15 | Rebecca Marino | Daniela Vismane |
| 3rd Singles Rubber–Saturday, April 16–2 PM (Pacific time) | Leylah Annie Fernandez | Daniela Vismane |
| Followed by 4th Singles Rubber–Saturday, April 16 | Rebecca Marino | Darja Semenistaja |
| Followed by 5th Rubber–Doubles–Saturday, April 16 | Gabriela Dabrowski Carol Zhao | Diana Marcinkevica Liga Dekmeijere |
The first singles match starts at 3:45 p.m. local time on Friday, April 15 and will be followed by the second singles rubber. The last two singles matches will get underway at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, and will be followed by the doubles match. All the matches are best of three sets.
All matches from the tie will be broadcast live on Sportsnet NOW (free) and TVA Sports 2.
