Leylah Fernandez leads Canada to FIRST Billie Jean King Cup title - with Crina Mustafa

Crina Mustafa, basketball and tennis content creator, comes over to Tennis and Bagels Podcast to chat (and cheer) with Andre about Canada's history-making moment with the Billie Jean King Cup title in Seville.

Leylah Annie Fernandez, the 21-year-old dynamo who's been making waves since her epic run to the 2021 US Open final, took on the role of leader of the Canadian team despite her young age, and did not disappoint. She went undefeated in 2023 in Billie Jean King Cup competition in both singles and double combined, making it a total of 8-0 for the year. After tough matches and near-misses, Fernandez fended off Ysaline Bonaventure in the Vancouver qualifiers in April after being a set and a break down to send Canada to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals stage. There, her way was no simpler, having to go down the trenches against Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain in a three-hour, two-tiebreak battle, then getting her first top 10 win against Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of Czechia in three sets in the semi-finals. Against Italy, the title was sealed with a straight-forward win over Jasmine Paolini.

Another young star seems to be being born in Canadian tennis, as Marina Stakusic left her mark in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. The 18-year-old, who has done incredibly well in the ITF World Tennis Tour, coming off of a win at the Tevlin Challenger in Toronto, lost only one match the whole week, going down against former Roland Garros champion and former World No. 2 in two sets, but winning every other match against players much higher ranked than her. Her incredible performance gave Canada the courage and belief necessary to go all the way, as Stakusic also went relatively untroubled against former Roland Garros semifinalist Martina Trevisan in the first singles against Italy.

Rounding up the team, US Open women's doubles champion Gaby Dabrowski partnered up with Fernandez in the critical match against Czechia to defeat multiple Grand Slam champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova to send Canada to the final.

Rebecca Marino and Genie Bouchard also left their hearts on the court, with Bouchard taking on to the court in doubles.

At the end of it all, Heidi El Tabakh also got her much awaited and deserved triumph with Team Canada as the team captain. The cheerful, but calm and focused captain's actions and critical decision making led Canada to be at its optimal state to finally lift the coveted trophy for the first time in the competition's history.

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Andre Rolemberg @Ro