The Ukrainians enter as favorites, but their captain sees a narrow margin for error as one singles match could reshape the entire tie.
Illya Marchenko, captain of Ukraine’s women’s tennis team, does not expect an easy victory over Belgium in the quarterfinals of the Billie Jean King Cup. In his view, the outcome of the tie could be decided by even a single unsuccessful singles match.
This is reported by “Tennis of Ukraine”.
On paper, we are the favorites. But this is the Billie Jean King Cup, and anything can happen here. There are only three matches, and if something goes wrong in one of the singles matches, it could prove decisive. Belgium has a young team, and its top player last year broke into the top 100 for the first time. So we are not expecting an easy victory. We are quite confident, and I have great faith in my team.
– Illya Marchenko
The 2026 Billie Jean King Cup Finals are taking place in Shenzhen from September 22 to 27. Eight of the season’s best national teams are competing for the premier team trophy in women’s tennis.
Ukraine will play in the final eight for the second consecutive year
Ukraine’s team is competing in the tournament’s final eight for the second consecutive year. Last year, Ukraine defeated Spain in the quarterfinals but later lost to Italy in a closely contested semifinal.
The match against Belgium will give Ukraine another opportunity to improve on its best result in Billie Jean King Cup history.