When Italy plays in Billie Jean King Cup: history with Ukraine and where to watch the semifinal on TV

After winning with China (2-0) in the quarterfinals of the Billie Jean King Cup, Italy is ready to return to the court for the semifinals. The Azzurre will face the Ukraine of Elina Svitolina, No. 13 in the WTA rankings, and Marta Kostyuk, world No. 26, who eliminated Spain in the quarters.

The match between the Italian and Ukrainian national teams is set for Friday, Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. Italian time (5 p.m. local time) on the indoor concrete court of the ‘Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena’ in Shenzhen. The match will be broadcast on SuperTennis, SuperTennis Plus and SuperTenniX.

Tathiana Garbin is expected to confirm the lineup seen with China with Jasmine Paolini the number one singles player, who is expected to face the ‘black beast’ Svitolina, and Elisabetta Cocciaretto number two, opposing Kostyuk. In case of a tie after singles, the deciding doubles will almost certainly be played by Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani.

There are as many as four previous matches between Italy and Ukraine and all of them smile at the Azzurri: the first one dates back to 1997, valid for the qualifying round of the European Zone of Group I, while the most recent one was played in Biella in 2012 in the first round of World Group I with a 3-2 victory for Italy thanks to the success of Sara Errani and Francesca Schiavone in singles and Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci in doubles.