As against China, Italy’s road to the Billie Jean King Cup is an uphill battle. The semi-final against Ukraine, on the indoor hard courts of the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre, opens with the defeat of Tyra Grant, who was preferred to the bruised Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
The Italian, number 149 WTA, lost to Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 25 minutes of play. The 29-year-old Ukrainian, number 48 in the world, was making her singles debut in this edition, after contributing in doubles to the 2-1 success over Belgium.
It is now up to Jasmine Paolini to try to keep Italy, two-time reigning champions after the successes in 2024 and 2025, in the running. In the other singles the Italian will face Elina Svitolina, number 7 in the ranking.
The winner of Italy-Ukraine will face the Czech Republic for the title tomorrow, who yesterday defeated Spain 2-0 in the other semi-final.