Ukraine reached the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time with gritty performances from Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk against Spain on Wednesday.
Svitolina defeated Paula Badosa 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 to wrap up the quarterfinal tie for Ukraine in the women's team competition.
Kostyuk beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 earlier in the day in Shenzhen.
The Ukrainians will now take on defending champions Italy on Friday.
Ukraine get it done on their debut! They're through to the semi-finals 🇺🇦
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) September 17, 2025
Next up: defending World Champions Italy 👀@ukrtennis_eng | #BJKCup pic.twitter.com/u4YFpFrANE
"I had to really dig deep for this win," said Svitolina, the world number 13.
"I’m super-pleased with the team performance, not only my performance today, because you know it takes a lot of people.
"All the guys here in the tracksuits of Ukraine, and the crowd as well made it really special for us today.
"It was a really important point, not only for our team but also for our country for the first time to be in the semifinals."
The Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre holds good memories for Svitolina, who reached the championship match of the prestigious WTA Finals when they were held there in 2019.
Badosa was playing her first match since Wimbledon, having been sidelined with a back injury.
Svitolina and Badosa are two of the biggest fighters of the game and their two-hour eight-minute battle was testament to that.
Badosa let a break advantage slip away and saved a set point while serving at 4-5 before she grabbed the opening set after 52 minutes.
Svitolina swiftly responded, sailing ahead 3-0 in the second frame to level the match.
She looked in control of the decider when she leapt to a 4-1 advantage but Badosa pegged her back and was soon on level terms.
The Spanish former world No 2 had an opportunity to break at 5-5 but Svitolina stayed resolute and swatted away the break point en route to victory.
History made for Ukraine 🥹
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) September 17, 2025
On their debut, they secure a spot in the semi-finals 🇺🇦#BJKCup pic.twitter.com/WRVxZCJ2sB
In the first match of the tie, Kostyuk survived the big-hitting Bouzas Maneiro to improve her singles record in the competition to 9-3.
"Just to represent my country here in the World Cup, just being here, doesn’t matter I win or lose, is such a big honour," said Kostyuk.
The moment Marta Kostyuk sealed her singles win 👏@ukrtennis_eng | #BJKCup pic.twitter.com/EltUK1EWFO
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) September 17, 2025
BUOYANT BRITAIN
Britain face Japan in the quarterfinals on Thursday while the United States take on Kazakhstan.
Anne Keothavong, captain of the British women's team, is without Emma Raducanu after she pulled out to play in South Korea.
"Obviously it’s just disappointing not to have your top player here, but we're here and we're ready to go tomorrow," Keothavong said on Wednesday.
"The players I've got here are well prepared and excited about the challenge of taking on Japan tomorrow."
In the absence of Raducanu, world number 55 Katie Boulter headlines the British team in Shenzhen.
Japan will be without four-time former Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
"Our ambition -– it's been no secret for all of us sitting here, the entire team -– is to win this competition. We're going to throw everything we've got at it," said Keothavong.