Canada will face host Switzerland for a place in next year’s Fed Cup finals, the first time the “World Cup of Tennis” tournament system will be used.
The draw for February’s qualifying matches pits the Canadians against a Swiss team that could be led by world No. 13 Belinda Bencic. Canada’s top player is No. 15 Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga.
The Swiss site and choice of surface will be announced at a later date.
Canada is 3-2 against Switzerland in Fed Cup action. Canada is ranked 13th, while Switzerland is ninth.
The other qualifying-round ties Feb. 7-8 are: United States versus Latvia; the Netherlands versus Belarus; Romania versus Russia; Brazil versus Germany; Spain versus Japan; Belgium versus Kazakhstan and Slovakia versus Britain.
Four countries, including 2019 Fed Cup finalists Australia and France, host nation Hungary and the Czech Republic, have already qualified for the inaugural 12-team final tournament in April, 2020.
With files from The Associated Press