'Huge turnaround': Outgoing Tennis Canada CEO sees future success for BJK Cup champions

When Michael Downey was settling into his new job as Tennis Canada chief executive officer in the mid-2000s, he helped guide a leadership group that set sky-high goals for the program.

A small fish on the sport's international scene at the time, the federation ambitiously set targets for Canadian players to win Grand Slam singles titles in each gender and capture both major team championships.

Three out of four ain't bad.

The Canadian women's team added to the trophy case over the weekend by winning the country's first-ever Billie Jean King Cup crown. The victory came less than a year after the men's team won the Davis Cup and four years after Bianca Andreescu raised the U.S. Open trophy.

"In a cycle of 15 years, we've got three of the four and the Canadian players are capable of doing it more than once," Downey said Monday from Montreal. "They're not flukes and that's pretty special."

Last week in Spain, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., was a force for a Canadian team that swept its way to the weekend playoffs before topping Italy 2-0 in the final.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., delivered upset singles wins and Ottawa's Gaby Dabrowski was an anchor in doubles. Montreal native Eugenie Bouchard and Vancouver's Rebecca Marino rounded out a roster that was captained by Heidi el Tabakh.

WATCH l Canada wins 1st-ever Billie Jean King Cup title:

"I think this was a phenomenal team effort," Downey said. "I think there was a bonding effort there that was amazing. Rebecca knowing that Marina was ready to go. Gaby ready to play [doubles] with Genie to save Leylah, and Leylah ready to just carry it.

"I think they're going to redefine what [makes] a good team and they're going to have future success."

The 36th-ranked