'A really special moment' for Ukraine as Svitolina seals team's spot in Billie Jean King Cup final

SHENZHEN, China (AP) — Elina Svitolina slammed her racket on the court to celebrate earning Ukraine a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup final for the first time Saturday.

The seventh-ranked Svitolina had plenty of emotions running through her mind after she beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2 to seal a 2-0 victory over two-time defending champion Italy in the semifinals of the women’s tennis team event.

There was a semifinal match that Svitolina lost to Paolini in last year’s competition. And Svitolina has been one of Ukraine’s highest-profile athletes raising her political voice about Russia’s invasion of her country.

“Just a really special moment for us, for Ukraine,” Svitolina said. “We are going through difficult times back home — all the people. It’s just unbelievable to get for the first time in a final.”

At this stage last year, Svitolina was a set and 4-2 up before Paolini came back to beat her.

“It was a really tough loss for me last year here,” Svitolina said. “So I really had to be focused and really step up my game.”

Paolini was on a 10-match winning streak in the competition.

Earlier, Anhelina Kalinina had put Ukraine ahead 1-0 by beating Tyra Caterina Grant 6-3, 6-4 in Grant’s competition debut.

In Sunday’s final, Ukraine will face Czechia, which is led by Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova and No. 1 doubles player Katerina Siniakova.

Czechia beat Spain 2-0 in their semifinal Friday and also shut out Britain 2-0 in the quarterfinals.

Ukraine beat Belgium 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

Against Belgium, Svitolina had lost in singles to 217th-ranked Greet Minnen before Kalinina and Lyudmyla Kichenok won a decisive doubles match.

“I was very upset after the first day against Belgium. ... I felt like I didn’t play at my best,” Svitolina said. “I really tried to use this chance, get better with my game, with my performance. Thanks to the team that they really supported me in this way. We practiced, we worked on few things. ... Such an historical moment for Ukraine.”

Czechia, formerly known as the Czech Republic, stands second all time with 11 titles in the competition previously called Fed Cup. The United States, which did not qualify for the finals, has won a record 18 titles.

See AP’s full tennis coverage here

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates with the Ukraine flag after defeating Jasmine Paolini of Italy during the semifinal match of the Billie Jean King Cup in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates winning her match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup women's singles semifinal between Ukraine and Italy, in Shenzhen, China, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine raises her racquet to celebrate after defeating Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup women's singles semifinal between Ukraine and Italy, in Shenzhen, China, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates winning her match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup women's singles semifinal between Ukraine and Italy, in Shenzhen, China, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates winning her match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup women's singles semifinal between Ukraine and Italy, in Shenzhen, China, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Tasia Fortune was apparently killed in a drug dispute before her body was hung in a tree in a “staged” scene behind an abandoned home in the Mississippi capital this summer, a detective testified Friday.

Fortune was killed in a disagreement about drugs, and she fought hard with her attackers before she was killed, Jackson police Detective Samuel Dukes told the court. Citing the medical examiner's opinion, he also said the hanging was “staged.”

Fortune was Black, and the Aug. 3 discovery of her hanging body stoked fear and drew widespread attention because the scene recalled actual lynchings in the Southern state, which has a long and troubled history of racial violence.

Authorities haven’t disclosed the exact cause of Fortune’s death or said why they think her body was hanged afterward, but they ruled it a homicide and arrested two men, both of them also Black, on murder charges. A 45-year-old man turned himself in Friday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was charged with murder and will appear in court Monday.

Outside court, Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, told reporters that she had been aware that her daughter died before her body was hanged. But that step, she added, “brought all the attention to it.”

“What bothered me was they said Tasia fought for her life. I know she did. I know my daughter,” Spivey said.

The hearing was meant to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to send the case against the first man arrested, Jarques Ratliff, to a grand jury for a possible indictment. It will resume Sept. 30.

Ratliff, 51, was arrested in mid-September and has pleaded not guilty. He remains jailed without bond. Police arrested a second defendant, 25-year-old Earnest Lloyd Jr., this week.

During Friday's hearing, Ratliff blurted out in court that he and Fortune were friends.

“It sounded sincere. Tasia had a lot of friends,” Spivey said later. “I hope if he is innocent that he can prove he’s innocent. We don’t want any innocent people going to jail.”

Ratliff’s stepdaughter, Lashuna Jones, was among her father's supporters at court.

“He didn’t do it, and I’m behind him,” she said.

Spivey has said her daughter, who had four children, struggled with homelessness in recent years, and that she wasn’t sure where Fortune was living at the time of her death. She said Fortune had talked about starting a cleaning business and was trying to get her life in order.

This story was first published on Sep. 25, 2026. It was updated on Sep. 26, 2026 to clarify that Jackson police Detective Samuel Dukes said Tasia Fortune was apparently killed in a drug dispute before her body was hung in a tree in a “staged” scene behind an abandoned home. Dukes did not indicate whether Fortune’s alleged killers intended to make the scene look like a lynching.

White reported from Detroit.

Christy Spivey poses with a portrait of her late daughter, Tasia Fortune, on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Marion, Ky. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Christy Spivey poses with a portrait of her late daughter, Tasia Fortune, on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Marion, Ky. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)