2025 Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs: Canada Heads to Monterrey With Eyes on 2026 Qualifiers

By Pete Borkowski

November 10, 2025

Billie Jean King Cup Team Canada Cheer for Canada

Victoria Mboko Marina Stakusic 2025 BJKC Tokyo Sarah Jade Champagne

Overview

In order for Team Canada to contend for a second Billie Jean King Cup title in 2026, they first need to get through this week’s play-off round. The 2023 champions are heading down to Monterrey, Mexico this week for the Play-offs, looking to get back into the qualifying round next spring.

Canada is in Group A with hosts Mexico and Denmark. The Canadians are the top-ranked team in the group and the No. 1 overall seed in the play-off round.

Each country will play each other once, with the top team clinching the spot in the 2026 Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. The other two teams will be demoted to their regional zones for next year’s competition.

Every tie will feature three best-of-three matches, two singles matches and a doubles match. The No. 2 singles players from each country will play the opening match followed by the No. 1 singles players. Doubles will be the final match.

As this is a round robin, every match counts towards the standings. Therefore, doubles will always be played even if a country wins both singles matches.

Canada is participating in the play-offs after losing in April’s qualifying round.

Schedule

Friday, November 14: Mexico vs. Denmark

Saturday, November 15: Canada vs. Denmark

Matches begin at 4:00 pm local, 5:00 pm EST

Sunday, November 16: Canada vs. Mexico

Matches begin at 4:00 pm local, 5:00 pm EST

The Teams

Once again, Canada is sending a mostly young and green team to the Billie Jean King Cup. For the second time in 2025, Canada will have multiple members of their squad making their Billie Jean King Cup debuts in Monterrey. This time around, it is Carson Branstine and Cadence Brace who earned their first nominations to don the red and white.

They will be joining two fellow youngsters, Canadian No. 1 Victoria Mboko, who made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in April in Tokyo, and Marina Stakusic, who is nominated for the fourth time.

Gabriela Dabrowski rounds out the squad. The doubles veteran has more Billie Jean King Cup experience than her four teammates combined.

Mboko and Stakusic are the only members of Team Canada in Monterrey that participated in April’s qualifying round.

Another sort-of new face for Team Canada this time around is captain Marie-Ève Pelletier. The former player is stepping in on an interim basis for Heidi El-Tabakh, who is on maternity leave.

Denmark’s Clara Tauson is the highest-ranked player for any country in Group A, coming in at No. 12 in the WTA rankings (six spots above Mboko). However, she is the only player on the Danish team ranked inside the Top 500. Tauson will be joined in Monterrey by Johanne Svendsen (No. 555), Rebecca Munk Mortensen (No. 638), Emma Kamper (No. 1174), and Laura Brunkel (No. 1289).

The host Mexicans are led by world No. 82 Renata Zarazua. While Mexico has the lowest-ranked No. 1 singles player of the three nations, they do have solid singles depth. Ana Sofia Sanchez (No. 173), Victoria Rodriguez (No. 363), and Julia Garcia (No. 862) will also be representing the hosts, as will doubles world No. 46 Giuliana Olmos.

How we got here – 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers

Canada failed to qualify for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for the first time since the competition format was changed in 2020-21. They finished second in Group A in April behind Japan. In Tokyo, three members of Team Canada, Mboko, Kayla Cross, and Ariana Arseneault, were participating in the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time.

Mboko dazzled in her Billie Jean King Cup debut, winning both of her singles matches. Stakusic went 1-1, scoring a victory in the first tie against Romania but lost against Japan. Top spot in the group came down to the wire, with Japan eliminating the Canadians with a three-set doubles win.

The full results are listed below:

Canada d. Romania 3-0