What’s at stake?
This will be Canada’s first appearance at the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge since last year’s final in Seville when they became the 13th different nation to win the competition.
Four members of that victorious side – Leylah Fernandez, Marina Stakusic, Rebecca Marino and Gabriela Dabrowski – as well as captain Heidi El Tabakh, are back to try to defend the title. Should they manage it, they will be just the ninth side to lift the famous cup on more than one occasion.
Great Britain, meanwhile, are one of only four nations to have competed in every Billie Jean King Cup season – alongside Australia, France and Italy – but they are the only one of those teams to have never won it, losing in four finals.
This iteration of the squad is one of Britain’s strongest in a long time. They made it to the semi-finals at home in Glasgow in 2022 and now they’re back in the quarter-finals courtesy of Friday’s victory over Germany.
History
This rivalry goes back all the way to the first edition of the Billie Jean King Cup, played at The Queen’s Club in 1963. Great Britain won 3-0 that day and have maintained a 100% record against Canada since then, winning their other clashes in 1966 and, most recently, in 1984.
If Britain are looking for another good omen, their team of the 1960s had Ann Jones in its ranks, in the 1980s there was Anne Hobbs, and in 2024 the team will be led by Anne Keothavong.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams on a hard court.
Who to look out for?
You can find the 2021 US Open finalists – Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez – in the teams’ ranks. But there’s unlikely to be a rematch between the pair as Katie Boulter now occupies the No. 1 singles position for Great Britain after a career-best season on tour.
A match between Boulter and Fernandez would be fascinating though. Their head to head is tied at 1-1 and they both have a habit of rising to the occasion when playing for their country.
Fernandez has won 16 of the last 17 Billie Jean King Cup matches she has contested, including all eight matches she played in the competition in 2023 as she led Canada to glory. Boulter, meanwhile, has won 13 of her 17 matches in the event, with her only defeats coming against France and Kazakhstan.
The opening match of the tie is likely to be a clash between two of the sport’s young talents. Raducanu impressed in her round one victory against Jule Niemeier while Canada’s Marina Stakusic is coming off the biggest title of her career and returns to the competition where she made a name for herself last year, winning three of her four singles matches.
Canada captain El Tabakh also has the option of going with experience in the No. 2 singles position – Rebecca Marino made her debut at this event all the way back in 2011.
If it comes down to the doubles, Canada are blessed to have world No. 3 Gabriela Dabrowski, who is currently on a seven-match winning streak in this competition.
Who is saying what?
Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong: “To be able to captain this team of incredible women, and for Katie to lead the way she does, and to have Emma back in the team, playing great tennis, I feel like I’m in a very fortunate position.
“I really believe that we can win this. I don’t have a problem saying that out loud, because we’ve got quality players who have shown in their own right what they’re capable of, whether it’s this year or in previous years. This competition has evolved. There have been lots of changes to the format, but regardless, we’re here and we’ve got a big goal.”
Canadian player Leylah Fernandez: “I think it does feel different coming into Malaga as the defending champions. Now there’s more teams who are going to come out there and give their all, especially against us. They want to prove a point.
“I think in a way we do feel it’s freeing because we finally got our first title. But at the same time there’s a little bit of pressure because we want to do it again. There’s a little bit of both but at the end of the day we want to just enjoy our time on court, bring some good energy, atmosphere, and hopefully the ties go our way.”