Victoria Azarenka to miss Fed Cup tie versus Canada

Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka will not play for Belarus against Canada in a Federation Cup World Group II tie this weekend at Laval University in Quebec City, Tennis Canada announced Friday.

Canada already knew it will also be without its top singles player, Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., who elected to skip the event to focus on WTA Tour play.

Francoise Abanda of Montreal will face Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., will play Olga Govortsova in the opening matches of the best-of-five series on Saturday.

On Sunday, Abanda will face Govortsova with Wozniak against Sasnovich, followed by a doubles match between Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., and the Belarus duo of Govortsova and Vera Lapko.

Azarenka was replaced on the Belarus squad by 17-year-old junior Nika Shytkouskaya.

Abanda, who turned 19 on Friday, will play in her third Fed Cup tie, while Wozniak will play her 49th and 50th career Fed Cup matches.