Canada bounces Mexico in Billie Jean Cup playoffs, advances to 2026 qualifiers
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MONTERREY – Team Canada has advanced to the 2026 Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers after defeating host Mexico on Sunday to win the Group A playoffs at Club Sonoma.
Victoria Mboko of Toronto defeated Renata Zarazua 6-1, 6-1 in a tidy 53 minutes, while American-Canadian Carson Branstine of Montreal bounced Julia Garcia 6-3, 7-6 to sweep the best-of-three final.
Had Canada dropped one of its singles matches, it would have had to play a must-win doubles match with Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and Mboko scheduled to face Giuliana Olmos and Zarazua.
Canada beat Denmark 2-1 on Saturday to force Sunday’s winner-take-all showdown. Mexico beat Denmark 2-1 on Friday.
American-Canadian Carson Branstine got the showdown against Mexico off to a great start with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) singles victory over Julia Garcia.
Branstine, who represented the United States before switching to Canada — the birth country of her mother — in 2017, needed one hour, 39 minutes to beat the 22-year-old crowd favourite.
Branstine finished with one ace, three double faults, 3-of-4 break points saved and 2-of-5 break points won. She won 65 per cent of her points on serve and won 2-of-10 return games.
Garcia finished with two aces, no double faults, 3-of-5 break points saved, and 1-of-11 break points won, and only won 1-of-11 return games.
“I will be honest, I was a little bit nervous going into the match,” Branstine said. “Not only because it was my first tie, but I haven’t played a match and just honestly not tons of tennis in the past month, six weeks. I was struggling with a hamstring pull at the end of the season, and obviously, my biggest priority was to get that healthy.
“All these girls are working hard and putting in the hours every day. I knew my level was there, but you just never know at these ties. I executed, had a great time and got the win.”
Mboko finished her match with five aces, three double faults and five break points conversions. The young Canadian won 89 per cent of her points on first serve, won all of her service games and won five of seven return games.
“Today was obviously a difficult match,” said Mboko. “It’s never easy to play a really great, talented player, especially in their home country. I’m glad I was able to lock in and get the win today for the team.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2025.