MONTREAL -- Veteran singles player Aleksandra Wozniak will anchor the Canadian team at next month's Fed Cup World Group II tie against Belarus.
She'll be joined by Montreal's Francoise Abanda, Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., for the Feb. 6-7 first-round tie at Laval University.
Wozniak, 28, didn't play in the Fed Cup last year due to a shoulder injury. She has a career record of 39-9 in the tournament and owns the national record for most career wins (39), singles wins (31) and ties played (34).
Belarus qualified for the World Group II level last year for the third time in the country's history. World No. 16 Victoria Azarenka leads the squad, which includes Olga Govortsova (No. 70), Aliaksandra Sasnovich (No. 105) and Vera Lapko (No. 533).
"We are aware that we are facing a very dangerous team," Canadian Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau said Wednesday in a release. "They have an elite player in Victoria Azarenka and they also have depth. Our team is composed of both young and experienced players. We want to make sure to have a very good week of training in Quebec City and take advantage of playing at home.
"We will be ready for some big battles."
Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., is the top-ranked Canadian singles player at No. 37 but she is not available for the tie. Bruneau said that since Bouchard had a short off-season after suffering a head injury last summer, she will instead spend the next few weeks training and working on her game.
Bruneau added he "totally understands" her situation and is hopeful Bouchard will return to the Canadian team for the next Fed Cup tie and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Canada's short run in the top-tier World Group ended last April after Romania edged the host side 3-2 at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal. Abanda had the lone singles win as Bouchard lost both of her matches.
Canada is ranked 12th in the Fed Cup nations standings, three positions ahead of Belarus. The two countries have never met in Fed Cup play.
The winner of the tie will compete in a World Group playoff against a first-round loser from the World Group. The Canada-Belarus loser will compete in a World Group II playoff tie against a Zone Group I qualifier.
Wozniak, from Blainville, Que., reached a career-high No. 21 in the world rankings in 2009 but has plummeted to No. 836 after missing time with her injury.
Dabrowski, 23, is the Canadian squad's top-ranked player in singles (No. 336) and doubles (No. 46). She has two career WTA doubles titles, winning in Washington in 2014 and at Monterrey last season.
Abanda, 18, holds the No. 338 position in the world rankings. Zhao, 20, has played at the University of Stanford the last two years. The world No. 345 was a finalist at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
