Rebecca Marino, Marina Stakusic, and first-time picks Victoria Mboko, Kayla Cross, and Ariana Arseneault will type Crew Canada on the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Qualifiers.
As a part of Group A, the Canadian group, ranked No. 2 on the planet, will face Romania (No. 13) and Japan (No. 14) from April 11 to 13, 2025 on the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan. The group winner will advance to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November.
“It will likely be thrilling to get again on the street with the group as now we have our sights set on reaching one other Billie Jean King Cup Finals,” stated group captain Heidi El Tabakh. “After successful the title in 2023 and experiencing all of the great feelings that got here with it, we want nothing greater than to make one other deep run. We now have each confidence within the group we’re bringing to Tokyo, with a few of our prime up-and-coming gamers becoming a member of us for the tie, and we look ahead to competing in opposition to the robust Romanian and Japanese groups.”
Marino, 34, who was a part of the championship group in 2023, has been named to Crew Canada for the thirteenth time, and at present holds a report of 7-10 on the competitors. The world No. 108 completed the 2024 season in nice vogue, claiming her greatest profession title on the Dow Tennis Basic, a WTA 125-level occasion held in Midland, Michigan. To date this season, Marino has reached the semifinals of the WTA 125 L&T Mumbai Open and took half within the Australian Open predominant draw, her first main-draw look at a significant because the 2024 version of the occasion in Melbourne, Australia.
Learn additionally: Relive Canada’s 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals Marketing campaign
The 2024 marketing campaign was additionally wonderful for 20-year-old Stakusic, who captured her finest title up to now on the WTA 125 Abierto Tampico and reached her first Grand Slam predominant draw as a qualifier at Wimbledon. She is at present ranked No. 129 on the planet after beginning final season within the 275th spot. The Qualifiers in Tokyo might be Stakusic’s third look on the Billie Jean King Cup, having performed a key function in Canada’s historic victory in 2023 when she defeated Spain’s Rebeka Masarova, Poland’s Magdalena Frech, and Italy’s Martina Trevisan en path to the title.
Mboko, 18, at present sits at a career-best rating of No. 188 after a dream begin to the season. In 2025, she holds a report of 27 wins and one loss in singles, in addition to a 6-1 report in doubles, successful seven titles over that span (5 singles, two doubles). Mboko additionally broke the Canadian report for essentially the most consecutive main-draw wins on the skilled circuit by a lady with 20, surpassing Marino’s 18-match run. Subsequent week, she might be participating in her first WTA 1000 predominant draw after receiving a wild card for the Miami Open.
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Cross is contemporary from successful her first title of the season on the ITF W35 occasion in Arcadia, California. She additionally reached two ITF W75 quarter-finals in 2025, serving to her climb to No. 250 on the planet, a brand new profession finest. Final 12 months, the 19-year-old received seven titles, six of which had been in doubles, and at present occupies the 177th spot within the doubles rankings.
Rounding out the group is 22-year-old Arseneault, who’s Canada’s third-highest-ranked doubles participant at No. 131 in world. After successful 4 doubles titles in 2024, together with two with compatriot Cross, the Richmond Hill native claimed her first doubles title of the season in February on the ITF W35 in Manchester, Nice Britain.
The 2025 Qualifiers will happen in six teams of three nations utilizing a round-robin format, as the ultimate section will change from a 12-team occasion in 2024 to an eight-team occasion in 2025.
For extra data on the Billie Jean King Cup and its new format, click on right here.
