Switzerland vs. Canada and Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup

Last year, after a strong performance, the Securitas team won the Switzerland Sub-World Championship title, thereby qualifying directly for the final round of this year’s Billie Jean King Cup. There they must first survive a group stage with three teams, for which the Swiss women drew their opponents today.

These are Canada and Italy teams. Swiss team captain Heinz Gunthard: “These will be tough encounters, but we certainly don’t have to hide from them.”

The meeting with Canada in particular should be a touchstone for the Swiss tennis players. 19-year-old Leila Fernandez (WTA 15), a finalist at last year’s US Open, leads the North Americans.

Another Canadian managed to win that Grand Slam in 2019: Bianca Andreescu (WTA 56) was once ranked No. 4 in the WTA world rankings, then dropped out of the top 100 due to injury and is now on her way back to the summit.

The last time the two teams met head to head, Switzerland kept up the impressive performance. It was 3-1 at Peel in February 2020. Back then, Belinda Bencic and Jill Teichmann of Switzerland’s Securitas took the points.

The last meeting with Italy also ended well from the Swiss point of view. In February 2019, Belinda Bencic and Viktorija Golubic scored to secure a 3-1 home win – also at Peel. Be warned about the Italians, though. With 30-year-old Camila Giorgi (WTA 27) and 28-year-old Martina Trevisan (WTA 29), they have two very experienced top players.

Belinda Bencic (WTA 16), Jill Teichmann (WTA 22) and Viktorija Golubic (WTA 58) in the Swiss squad should be set if healthy. The fight for fourth place looks open, especially with Jelena In-Alpen (WTA 113), Joanne Zuker (WTA 179), Simona Waldert (WTA 186) and Stephanie Vogel (WTA 193) all in question. Captain Heinz Gunthart will announce the appointment at least one month in advance.