The 2023 Billie Jean King Cup champions will have a shot at a second title in 2026. Team Canada clinched top spot in Group A in the Play-Offs on Sunday by defeating Mexico 2-0 in their final tie. The victory was assured after a pair of straight-set singles wins on Sunday by Carson Branstine and Victoria Mboko.
By winning the group, Canada advances to the 2026 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers. The Canadians have played in the top tier of the competition every year since 2020.
Both nations had beaten Denmark 2-1 in their first tie, making Sunday’s clash a winner-take-all affair. Branstine battled through the opening match to give the Canadians the first point before Mboko slammed the door shut with a dominant display in the second singles, earning Team Canada an insurmountable 2-0 lead.
Making her Billie Jean King Cup debut, Branstine did not seem phased by the occasion. The 25-year-old was on offence for most of the match and held off a late push from Garcia to score a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory.
Most of the match was on the Canadian’s racquet, as she fired 38 winners to her opponent’s 10. She won 76 per cent of her first serve points and was only broken once on four break points faced.
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Branstine came out strong to start her Billie Jean King Cup career, winning the first six points of the match. However, despite taking a quick love-30 lead in Garcia’s opening service game, the Canadian would have to wait to get a look at a break.
Both women were largely able to defend their serves comfortably throughout the opening set. It was not until the eighth game that Branstine was finally able to create some break point opportunities. Garcia saved two with good serves and the Canadian missed a forehand on another, but finally on the fourth break point of the game, a deep return from Branstine coaxed a sitter that she easily put away with her forehand to secure the lone break of the opening set.
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After saving the first break point on her own serve of the match in her opening service game of the second set, Branstine settled back in. At 2-2, she got a love-40 opening and teed off on a forehand to secure the break. In the following game, she found herself down break point twice but blasted forehand winners on both to maintain her advantage.
Garcia was not going away quietly, and as the Mexican began to push, some cracks started to appear in Branstine’s game. At 4-3, the Canadian missed a backhand to go down break point and this time, she missed a forehand to put the set back on serve.
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In the tiebreak, she went up an early minibreak but could not consolidate, losing both of her service points to go down 3-4. But when she needed it most, Branstine was able to find the big shots she needed, reeling off three straight points to set up match point. On the second, Garcia sent a backhand long to give Team Canada the first point.
Mboko Stays Perfect to Seal Win
At the end of a long, dramatic 2025 season, Victoria Mboko had one last bit of brilliance in her to send the Canadians into the 2026 Qualifiers. Just needing a win over Mexican No. 1 Renata Zarazua to clinch the tie, Mboko was dominant, racing out of the gate and never looking back in a straight-set win.
Mboko, who is now a perfect 5-0 in her Billie Jean King Cup career (singles and doubles), kept Zarazua on defence throughout the match. The Mexican had no answer for the teen’s power as Mboko cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in just 53 minutes, clinching the tie and the group for Canada.
It was one-way traffic from start to finish from the Canadian, who lost a mere seven points on serve, just two on her first, and never faced a break point. She even won 59 per cent of Zarazua’s service points, breaking five times. Mboko won more than twice as many total points in the win, 55 to 26.
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Unlike her match the previous day when she got off to a slow start, Mboko wasted no time in asserting herself on Sunday. The Canuck raced out to a 3-0 lead, driving a deep return to draw an error on the first break point she saw in the second game.
Not satisfied with just a single break, Mboko kept pushing. Zarazua was struggling to handle the pace coming off the Canadian’s racquet and, serving down 1-4, committed back-to-back errors from deuce to gift Mboko a second break. The teen wrapped up the opening set in just 27 minutes.
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Mboko kept coming in the second set, using her big hitting to score another break in the opening game. The 19-year-old was also serving at an incredibly high level, holding every game with ease which allowed her to keep applying pressure on return. In the fifth game, another big return set up a love-40 opportunity for Mboko, who eventually coaxed an error on the third break point to go up 4-1.
Even with two breaks, the world No. 18 was not about to coast. When Zarazua served to stay in the match at 1-5, Mboko kept piling on pressure. At 30-all, the Canadian fired a forehand winner down the line to bring up match point, where she laced a backhand winner that nicked the line to secure the match, the tie, and the group for Team Canada.
As Canada had already clinched the tie with the two singles wins, the doubles was not played.
The 2026 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers will be held in April. Canada will learn their opponent and location soon.
CLICK HERE for everything you need to know about the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Play-Offs.
Feature Photo : ITF
