Elina Svitolina made history for Ukraine at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
After Marta Kostyuk gave Ukraine a 1-0 lead over Spain earlier in the day, it was up to Svitolina to secure their place in the last four of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for the first time in the nation’s history.
Delivering for her country as she always does, Svitolina defeated Paula Badosa in three sets, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.
Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images for Billie Jean King Cup
The Ukrainian was excellent throughout, fighting for every point against Badosa, who was playing her first match since Wimbledon.
During commentary for the tie, Svitolina was praised for what she did immediately after beating Badosa to secure Ukraine’s place in the semis.
Melanie South says it was a ‘nice touch’ from Elina Svitolina to shake hands with the Spanish team
Svitolina could be seen shaking hands with every member of Spain’s Billie Jean King Cup team after the match, a move that impressed former British tennis player Melanie South.
“She plays with such passion,” said South.
“It’s a lovely touch from her to go shake the hand of every member of the Spanish team as well. They fought and did everything out there.”
Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images for Billie Jean King Cup
South was keen to praise both players for putting on a show for the fans in China.
“[Paula] Badosa, just fantastic, it’s great to see her back, she was engaging with the crowd, she was enjoying the battle and the fight, it was such a fantastic match,” she said.
Also speaking on commentary, former top 100 Ukrainian player Olga Savchuk was delighted to see her nation qualify for the semifinals.
“You can definitely see all that joy for Team Ukraine, finally they’ve made it happen for the first time in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, first win for them, and beating Spain, who they previously lost to before one time,” she said.
“To produce such a level from both of the players, that pressure to lead the team, was just incredible.
“They’ve been going at this for so long, for so many years, it finally feels like they’re in the right place at the right time. But again, what a level they produced.”
Ukraine and Svitolina will now rest up ahead of their semifinal tie against the defending champions, Italy.
Elina Svitolina claims Ukraine are here to ‘win the whole thing’ ahead of Italy semifinal
During her post-match interview, Svitolina shared her thoughts on Ukraine’s upcoming semifinal tie with Italy.
“The goal is to win, we are here to perform well and try to win the whole thing,” she said.
“We are enjoying being here and all the conditions are perfect, it’s great to be here and playing in the semifinals is a bonus for us.”
Svitolina then reflected on her and Ukraine’s performance in the quarterfinals against Spain.
“Super pleased with the team performance, not only my performance today, because it takes a lot of people, and of course, all the guys here in the tracksuits of Ukraine, and the crowd as well made it really special for us today,” she said.
“It’s really important for not only our team but also for our country to be in the semifinals for the first time.
“It was a really tough match, Paula is a great fighter and a great player, so I had to really dig deep for this win and just tried to be really focused every point
“It was a great battle.”
Svitolina has now won more Billie Jean King Cup matches than any other player in Ukrainian tennis history.
Looking to make more history, Svitolina will try to lead her team to an upset win over Italy in the last four.
Svitolina will likely be paired up against Italian number one Jasmine Paolini in the singles, a player she has beaten twice before.
2025 French Open 4R – Elina Svitolina defeated Jasmine Paolini2025 Australian Open 3R – Elina Svitolina defeated Jasmine Paolini
Only time will tell if Svitolina can pick up her third win over Paolini should they face off in the Billie Jean King Cup semifinals.
Team Italy will play Team Ukraine for a place in the final on Friday, September 19.