BJK Cup 2025: Kostyuk Overcomes Cocciaretto, Italy on the Brink Against Ukraine
Marta Kostyuk delivered a high-level performance against Elisabetta Cocciaretto, bringing Ukraine closer to qualifying for the Billie Jean King Cup 2025 final.
This Friday, the first semifinal of the BJK Cup 2025 took place in Shenzhen between Italy, the titleholder, and Ukraine. The day's first match pitted Elisabetta Cocciaretto against Marta Kostyuk, two players who entered with confidence after both won their initial singles matches in the quarterfinals, respectively against Yuan Yue and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
In head-to-head encounters, Kostyuk led two wins to zero before this important showdown. In this match, the rankings logic was respected (Kostyuk ranked 26th, Cocciaretto 91st).
The Italian made many unforced errors at the start, while the Ukrainian, without having to exert much effort, quickly pulled away in the first set. The second set was more contested, and Cocciaretto managed to take the lead, at least initially.
But at 2-2, she let too many chances slip to win her service game, while her opponent constantly put her under pressure during exchanges. Similar to her match against Yuan Yue in the quarters, she didn't give up, forcing Kostyuk to hold her serve until the end.
Strong on her serves, the Ukrainian didn't concede a single break point and logically won (6-2, 6-3 in 1h29). In their first Final 8 participation in the BJK Cup, Ukraine is just one victory away from the final.
To secure this advantage, Elina Svitolina must now defeat Jasmine Paolini, who is against the wall and must beat her opponent for the first time in her career to avoid elimination before the final for Italy.
