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Canada will face Brazil in November with its Billie Jean King Cup standing on the line.
The eighth-ranked Canadians, seeded second, dropped into the playoffs after a 3-1 loss to Kazakhstan in the qualifiers earlier this month.
Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., Kayla Cross of London, Ont., Ariana Arseneault of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Sasha Vagramov of Port Moody, B.C., represented Canada in that tie in Astana.
Brazil will confirm the venue and playing surface for the Nov. 16-22 tie.
Canada, which won the Billie Jean King Cup title in 2023, is 12-0 all-time against Brazil in the women’s international team competition.
Winners advance to the 2027 qualifiers, while losing teams drop to regional Group I events, the next tier below the playoffs.
WATCH | Replay of Andreescu vs. Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva at BJK Cup qualifier:
Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers: Match 4 CAN-Andreescu vs. KAZ-Putintseva
Watch day two singles action of the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers tie between Canada’s Bianca Andreescu and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva from Astana.Fernandez wins opener in Madrid
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez kicked off her Madrid Open campaign Thursday with a straight-sets win over Julia Grabher.
The 23-year-old from Laval, Que., seeded 24th, defeated the Austrian 6-2, 6-3 to improve to 3-0 all-time against the world No. 107.
Fernandez, who received a first-round bye, advances to the third round and will next face American Iva Jovic, the 15th seed, who beat Poland’s Magda Linette 6-4, 6-1.
Fernandez did not record an ace and had five double faults, compared to three aces and one double fault for Grabher. The Canadian made the most of her chances, converting four of six break-point opportunities while limiting Grabher to one break on two chances.
Victoria Mboko, of Burlington, Ont., seeded 10th, is scheduled to begin her tournament Friday against American Catherine McNally. Mboko is also set to compete in doubles alongside Jovic.
On the men’s side, No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Montreal, faces Vilius Gaubas, fellow Montrealer Gabriel Diallo, seeded 32, meets Elmer Moller, and No. 31 Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., plays Nicolai Budkov Kjaer.