Canadian Bianca Andreescu not scheduled for singles at Fed Cup

Jace Mallory

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Canadian Bianca Andreescu not scheduled for singles at Fed Cup image

Bianca Andreescu is scheduled to return to the hardcourt, but not in singles competition. The U.S. Open champion was not listed on the singles roster for Canada at the Fed Cup qualifiers but is paired with Gabriela Dabrowski to potentially play doubles.

The draw was announced on Thursday and Canada is set to face sixth-seeded Switzerland Friday and Saturday with the winner advancing to the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in April in Budapest, Hungary. 

Andreescu injured her knee at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen on Oct. 31, when she was forced to pull out of the tournament. Then, after entering as a favorite to win the Australian Open, Andreescu announced she would not compete in Melbourne to continue rehabbing her knee injury.

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“Switzerland has proven over the years that they can be a very dangerous team and they have a deep pool of talented players," Canadian team captain Heidi El Tabakh said. "It will not be an easy test for our team but we know we are up to the challenge. We have been working hard all week and our players are looking forward to competing on-court and representing Canada.”

Should the tie remain equal at two wins apiece through the singles matches, Andreescu and Dabrowski are scheduled to appear in the winner-takes-all doubles match. However, substitutions are permitted up to an hour before every match.

No. 185 Leylah Annie Fernandez will face No. 68 Jil Teichmann at 8 p.m. ET on Friday with No. 267 Eugenie Bouchard is set to square off against No. 5 Belinda Bencic afterward. The next day, the two will swap opponents with Fernandez/Bencic starting things off at 7 p.m. ET.

Canada's quest to the Fed Cup quickly became a much-higher uphill climb with Andreescu held out of the singles competition. Should she and Dabrowski take the court, their experience could bode well for Canada. Dabrowski made it to the semifinals at the Australian Open in mixed doubles with Henri Kontinen and the quarterfinals in the women's doubles tournament with Jelena Ostapenko.

Jace Mallory