By Canadian Press

Canada falls 2-1 to Japan, has four-year streak of making BJK Cup Finals halted

Apr 13, 2025 | 10:15 AM

TOKYO — Canada fell 2-1 in its tie against Japan on Sunday, snapping its four-year streak of making the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

With both teams having defeated Romania, the only other team in the group, both teams needed a win to make the Finals.

Canada will instead head for the 2025 Playoffs in November, where it will look to earn a spot in the 2026 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers.

“Overall, I really do believe it was a great day. It was a very tough day, all matches were very close,” Canadian captain Heidi El Tabakh said.

“I’m sure we’re all disappointed we lost, but I’m very, very proud of every single girl on the team and the effort they put in today. We fought till the end, and it just didn’t go our way.”

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Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko opened the tie with a 6-4, 6-7 (8), 7-5 win over over Japan’s Ena Shibahara. The opening singles match lasted two hours 45 minutes but put second-ranked Canada on the board first.

The 14th-ranked Japanese evened the score when Moyuka Uchijima defeated 20-year-old Canadian Marina Stakusic in the second singles match 6-3, 6-3.

In the deciding doubles match, Canada’s duo of Rebecca Marino and Kayla Cross fell 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 to Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama.

“I’m very, very, very proud of Rebecca and Kayla for showing up and playing the way they did this evening, playing against a very experienced Japanese team, one of the best players in the world,” El Tabakh said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2025.

The Canadian Press