By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, September 26, 2026
Photo credit: Billie Jean King Cup/World Tennis
Playing for her nation’s first Billie Jean King Cup final, Elina Svitolina was in no mood to play the waiting game.
Svitolina swept Italian No. 1 Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2, sealing Ukraine’s 2-0 victory over Italy and its first trip to the Billie Jean King Cup finals.
Anhelina Kalinina staked Ukraine to a 1-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 149th-ranked Tyra Caterina Grant to set the stage for Svitolina’s semifinal-clinching heroics.
Winless in five prior ties vs. Italy, Ukraine dethroned the two-time defending champions snapping Italy’s eight-match Billie Jean King Cup winning streak. Svitolina, who lost her first singles match of the week vs. Belgium’s Greet Minnen, credited her teammates for their support before and during today’s final-clinching triumph.
“I was very upset after the first day against Belgium, about my performance, because I felt like I didn’t play at my best. But all the credits to Minnen,” Svitolina said. “She played an unbelievable match. Of course, it was a great chance for us that girls won in doubles, gave us a chance to play in the semifinals. I
really tried to use this chance, get better with my game, with my performance.
“Thanks to the team that they really supported me in this way. We practiced, we worked on few things. I’m very happy that we passed Italy and now we’re in the finals. Such an historical moment for Ukraine. Just really happy and proud of the team. Looking forward for tomorrow.”
Ukraine has now won seven of its last eight Billie Jean King Cup ties with its lone loss in that span coming to Tathiana Garbin’s Italian squad in the 2025 semifinals.
Captain Illya Marchenko has guided Ukraine to its maiden BJK Cup final as it become the 18th nation to reach the final and third first-time finalist since the introduction of the Billie Jean King Cup finals in 2021.
Ukraine will face No. 2-seeded Czechia in tomorrow’s final.
Eleven-time champion Czechia has not lost a match this week, defeating Spain, 2-0, in the semifinals after sweeping Great Britain, 2-0, in the quarterfinals. Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova is undefeated in BJK Cup play this season.
Today, a sharp Svitolina converted five of seven break points scoring her 20th career Billie Jean King Cup singles victory.
Now, Svitolina is looking forward to helping Ukraine secure its first Billie Jean King Cup championship over “massive favorite” Czechia.
“Firstly, I think we already very happy with the finals here. But the job is not done,” Svitolina said. “Czechia is a massive favorite I think on the paper, so we have nothing to lose in a way. We’ll be going in with this mindset.
“I think just trying to bring our good game, stay focused on what we have to do tactically. With this, give ourselves a good chance to fight, maybe get the trophy.”
Fans were waving Ukrainian flags in the stands today. Svitolina, empowered by the resilience of her Ukrainian compatriots who have withstood an unprovoked attack from neighboring Russia since February of 2022, vowed “we’re going to lift this trophy for Ukrainian people.”
“Of course, this would be a dream for us, for Ukraine,” Svitolina said. “Yeah, I really, really hope that one day – maybe tomorrow, maybe some other day – that we’re going to lift this trophy for Ukrainian people. Means so much for the history of tennis.
“We have so many great players. I think in such a difficult time right now with the war ongoing, with the daily attacks on various cities, I think these kind of wins, any kind of win in sports, it’s just unbelievable. It unites people and just gives them a little break from the daily attacks and the war.”
It’s been a superb season for Ukrainian women on Tour. Marta Kostyuk, Svitolina’s Billie Jean King Cup teammate, defeated Russian Mirra Andreeva in the Mutua Madrid Open final to capture the biggest title of her career in May then went on to reach the Roland Garros semifinals.
In January, Svitolina won her 19th career title in Auckland and went on to reach the Dubai final. Svitolina captured the Rome championship in May, her third Rome crown and 20th WTA title, then reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals bowing to Kostyuk in an all-Ukrainian clash.
World No. 7 Svitolina and the 10th-ranked Kostyuk lead six Ukrainian women currently residing in the WTA’s Top 100.
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