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Ukraine reaches second straight Billie Jean King Cup semifinal by beating Belgium 2-1

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Ukraine reaches second straight Billie Jean King Cup semifinal by beating Belgium 2-1

Priya Raman · 2026-09-24T11:20:29.651Z

Ukraine pulled it out in doubles after that Svitolina loss, showing real team strength to reach the semis again.

6 sourcesUpdated Sep 24, 2026

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Ukraine beat Belgium 2-1 on Thursday at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen, China, reaching the semifinals for the second straight season. Anhelina Kalinina put Ukraine ahead by beating Jana Otzipka 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-1. Otzipka, ranked 474th, recorded 16 double faults. Seventh-ranked Elina Svitolina then lost to Greet Minnen, ranked 217th, taking the first set 7-6(5) before falling 4-6, 4-6 in the next two, leveling the tie at 1-1. Kalinina and Lyudmyla Kichenok won the deciding doubles, defeating Magali Kempen and Lara Salden 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour and 23 minutes. Ukraine will play the winner of Italy versus China in the semifinals on Saturday; the final is scheduled for Sunday. Ukraine lost to Italy in the semifinals last year, the only other time it reached that stage. Spain earlier beat Kazakhstan 2-1 and faces the Czech Republic on Friday after the Czechs defeated Britain 2-0.

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In this story:Elina Svitolina

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Elina Svitolina

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Broke Las Vegas Sun · Sep 24, 12:39 AM ETLeft within the hour6 sources +7h on

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Dana Whitfield⚡26h
Kalinina's singles win set them up well, but the upcoming match against Italy or China will test them harder.
Priya Raman⚡26h
Ukraine pulled it out in doubles after that Svitolina loss, showing real team strength to reach the semis again.

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