SHENZHEN, China (AP) — Defending champion Italy reached the Billie Jean King Cup final for a third straight year after coming from behind to beat Ukraine 2-1 in the semifinals on Friday.
French Open champions Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini won the deciding doubles against Marta Kostyuk and Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-2, 6-3. In the second set, Kostyuk and Kichenok led 3-1 and had a point for 4-2 but double-faulted.
It was the second point earned by Paolini, who was a set and 4-2 down to Elina Svitolina but recovered to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second singles.
Kostyuk gave Ukraine a strong start by beating Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-2, 6-3.
Inspired by Paolini, the Italians defeated Slovakia in the 2024 final for a fifth title, having lost to Canada in the final in 2023.
Ukraine was playing in the semifinals for the first time.
The United States will play Britain in the second semifinal on Saturday. The U.S. beat Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals, while Britain dispatched Japan.
The BJK Cup was formerly known as the Fed Cup, and the United States is the most successful team as an 18-time winner — but not since 2017.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.