When Marta Kostyuk withdrew from her Billie Jean King Cup Finals commitments, expectations for the Ukrainian team dropped. It was widely expected that World No. 7 Elina Svitolina would have to do the heavy lifting, but no one accounted for Anhelina Kalinina. The 29-year-old came in as Kostyuk’s replacement and has been one of the lynchpins of Team Ukraine in their run to the first-ever final at the competition. After Svitolina sealed the team’s victory against Italy, Kalinina could not hold back her emotions any longer.

After the tie was over, Kalinina was seen in tears with her country’s flag around her. She shared a warm hug with Svitolina after the latter had won her singles match against Jasmine Paolini. Coming in at the last moment, Kalinina was a rock for her team during this week in Shenzhen. During the quarterfinal against Belgium, she won her singles match against Jana Otzipka, even though the unheralded Belgian came out firing on all cylinders and won the first set in a tiebreak.

Kalinina kept her cool and won the next two sets 6-1 to give her team the lead. She was back in action in the deciding doubles when Greet Minnen unexpectedly beat Elina Svitolina in the second singles. Partnering with Lyudmyla Kichenok, Kalinina delivered the win over the Belgian team of Magali Kempen and Lara Salden.

Coming into the tie against Italy, Kalinina rose up to the occasion once more, winning her singles match against Tyra Grant in straight sets to give Ukraine the lead, before Svitolina finished it off with her win against Paolini. Kalinina was on the roster for the doubles as well and would have been back on the court if the deciding doubles had been needed.

Coming into the competition in place of Marta Kostyuk was quite a big pair of shoes to fill for Kalinina. The Ukrainian finished the 2025 season ranked 157th and struggled with her form recently. She was mostly active on the Challenger Tour in 2026, where she won two titles from four finals. She did reach her third Tour-level final in Rabat this year, but had to retire in her final against Petra Marcinko.

On the other hand, Kostyuk is having the best season of her career in 2026, winning a WTA 1000 title in Madrid and also reaching Grand Slam semifinals at the French Open and at Wimbledon. However, to Kalinina’s credit, she did not let Kostyuk’s absence hinder her team, leading them to their first Billie Jean King Cup final.

However, Kalinina needs to step up to the line once more, as Team Ukraine is all set to take on a formidable Czech team in the final.

Anhelina Kalinina’s Ukraine to Face the Czech Republic in the Final of the Billie Jean King Cup

Playing in their maiden Billie Jean King Cup final, Ukraine face the Czech Republic, the second-most successful nation in the competition. The Czech team has the likes of Karolina Muchova and the reigning Wimbledon champion, Linda Noskova, in their ranks, while also having one of the best doubles players of modern times in Katerina Siniakova.

For Ukraine, the best chance lies in finishing the tie in the singles, as it will be difficult for them to win the doubles with Siniakova on the other side. Given the rankings, the possible matchups will see Muchova taking on Kalinina, with the two players having not played before. On the other hand, Noskova and Svitolina would square off as the highest-ranked singles players from each team. The head-to-head is 2-1 in favor of Noskova, but one of her victories came via retirement at the 2024 Australian Open.

The Czech Republic has been dominant in Shenzhen so far, with the team not needing the deciding doubles till now. Noskova has led the charge with her two victories against the likes of Katie Boulter and Cristina Bucsa, while Muchova and Marie Bouzkova have handled the rest of the singles duties. For Ukraine, Kalinina will need to be at her best once again, as she will be in action in the first singles and in the doubles as well, if needed.