Ukraine’s women’s tennis stars have dedicated their qualification for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen, China to the nation’s soldiers.
After beating Switzerland 2-1 in Radom, Poland, top-ranked Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina posted a statement to X: “We dedicate this historic victory — reaching the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup — to our soldiers.
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“It is thanks to you that we have the opportunity to play, to win, and to proudly raise the Ukrainian flag on the world stage,” the statement said.
Svitolina, the world No. 18 and one of the most prominent sporting campaigners against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since 2022, sealed the finals berth with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Swiss world No. 96 Jil Teichmann. She was joined by world No. 25 Marta Kostyuk and sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok, who have won four doubles titles together; Lyudmyla is a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion.
“As Easter approaches — a time for family and togetherness — we want this victory to serve as a powerful reminder for the world: thousands of Ukrainian children are still missing — forcibly taken to Russia, torn from their families, homes, and identity,” the statement continued.
The U.S. State Department in late March said that it had preserved a database of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, following fears that it had been deleted owing to funding cuts.
Svitolina and her country’s players last month played two of the year’s biggest tournaments in the U.S. — the WTA 1,000 events in Indian Wells, Calif. and Miami, Fla. — in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s explosive Oval Office meeting with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. In an extraordinary break between the two allies, Trump lectured Zelensky on his weak position in negotiations and in the war. “You don’t have the cards,” Trump said. Cease-fire negotiations are ongoing.
“I feel like we are united even more because we feel like the United States is not helping us much for the past few weeks,” Svitolina said in an interview after that meeting.
In a busy weekend of Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, Spain shocked Czechia to reach September’s finals alongside Ukraine. Great Britain, Japan and Kazakhstan also secured their spots with wins over the Netherlands, Canada and Colombia respectively, while the U.S. faces Slovakia in a winner-takes-all clash April 13.
(Top photo of Elina Svitolina: Foto Olimpik / Nur Photo via Getty Images)
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