Just a day after toppling Sonja Zhiyenbayeva in Astana, Bianca Andreescu’s grit briefly revived Canada, leveling the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier at 1-1. But momentum proved fragile. In a cruel twist, a bizarre second-serve mishit shattered Canada’s hopes, turning Andreescu’s heroics into heartbreak as the Finals dream in Shenzhen slipped away.

At 4-6 in the deciding third-set tie-break against Kazakh ace Yulia Putintseva, Bianca Andreescu produced a moment she would want back for the rest of her career. Her second serve drifted well wide of the service box, a costly mishit at the worst possible time in the match.

In a contest played under the banner of the Billie Jean King Cup, often called the “World Cup” of women’s tennis, that single error proved decisive. After the mishit, Putintseva literally lay on the court as Kazakhstan secured the tie, ultimately winning 3-1.

The opening day had ended on an even note, with Andreescu stepping up when it mattered earlier in the tie. She had defeated Sonja Zhiyenbayeva in the second singles rubber to bring Canada level and keep the contest alive.

With momentum split between the two sides, everything came down to a high-stakes second day with a place in the Finals on the line. Kazakhstan, however, took firm control early, as Anna Danilina and Zhibek Kulambayeva dominated the doubles rubber.

They beat Andreescu and Kayla Cross 7-5, 6-1, shifting the pressure squarely onto the singles matches. Putintseva then reinforced that advantage by edging Andreescu in a physically demanding singles battle on Saturday.

The match was intense from the beginning, with the opening set stretching into a tie-break that Putintseva claimed 7-6 (5). Andreescu responded strongly in the second set, raising her level to take it 6-3 and force a decider.

She even broke serve to lead 4-3 in the final set, putting herself within touching distance of victory. But Putintseva refused to back down, mounting a determined comeback that pushed the match into another tie-break.

That surge carried the Kazakh player to match point, with Andreescu serving at 4-6 in the breaker. What followed, however, was unexpected.

With that result, Kazakhstan sealed its place in September’s Finals of the Billie Jean King Cup. Meanwhile, the 2023 champions, Canada, were left to regroup and turn their attention to November’s playoffs.

It is worth noting that Canada was without its top two singles players in the WTA rankings, Victoria Mboko, ranked world No. 9, and Leylah Fernandez, ranked No. 25.

Their absence may have made a decisive difference in such a tightly contested and physically draining tie. At the same time, Andreescu has struggled to find consistency on the main tour in 2026.

Her latest appearance came at the Charleston Open, where she exited in the second round after losing to Sofia Kenin.

Now, as that bizarre shot costs Canada its Billie Jean King Cup Finals qualification, the moment also echoes similar painful instances from the past.

Double faults prove decisive as Serena Williams crashes out of the US Open

Back in 2016, Serena Williams saw her bid to make history collapse once again at the US Open semifinals, marking the second straight year of heartbreak at that stage.

She was undone by a string of costly errors, most notably a half-dozen double faults, including one on match point that sealed her fate. Williams later pointed to an injured left knee as a contributing factor, but the numbers told a harsher story, with 31 unforced errors piling up over the match.

Across the net, Karolína Plíšková stayed composed and clinical, winning 6-2, 7-6 (5) to pull off a stunning upset. Plíšková’s dominance showed early, as she captured 10 of the final 11 points in the opening set to take full control.

The second-set tie-break offered Williams a chance to fight back, and she did, recovering from 0-3 down to lead 5-4, just two points away from forcing a decider.

But the comeback never materialized, as she failed to win another point and closed the match with yet another double fault, leaving Flushing Meadows with another painful near miss.

Another bizarre incident came in 2019 when Jelena Ostapenko hit 25 double faults and still managed to defeat Karolína Plíšková at the China Open in Beijing.

Despite needing a wild card to enter the main draw, Ostapenko battled through her serving struggles to win 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, even converting just six of 24 break points compared to Plíšková’s six of nine.

It was the kind of match where the numbers suggested she should have lost, yet she somehow found a way to escape.

Today, a similar sense of disbelief surrounds Bianca Andreescu, whose bizarre second serve has now cost her nation a place in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

With qualification slipping away in such dramatic fashion, the focus now shifts to November, where Canada will aim to recover from a deeply frustrating and damaging defeat.

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