From Tunisia to the Dominican Republic: Ukraine's disappointing journey in the Davis Cup.

In early February, our national team lost to the hosts in the playoff to retain its place in the World Group I – 2:3 in the capital of Tunisia. This defeat relegated the team to the third tier of the Davis Cup, where Ukraine last played in 2012.

It seemed that after the September loss to the modest Israel (1:3), Ukraine, being seeded, would manage to stay in the current division. However, Tunisia is not Barbados or Lebanon, but a capable team. Aziz Dugaz (222) recently made his debut in the main draw of a major at the Australian Open-2025. Add to this the home court advantage and the fact that the strongest Ukrainians were only in the fourth hundred of the rankings – and the Africans understandably looked like favorites.

The first day of play ended in a tie. Vitaliy Sachko (384) secured the first victory for the team by defeating Dugaz, while Oleksandr Ovcharenko (311) lost his third consecutive singles match. A disappointing upset was created by Moez Esharghi (460).

The next day, captain Orest Tereshchuk relied on the tested doubles duo of Sachko/Krutyh, but they lost in two sets, leaving Ukraine in a difficult position – 1:2.

Due to rain, the decisive matches were postponed to the next day, and Ovcharenko immediately pleasantly surprised by defeating Dugaz in two sets. He accomplished the minimum task – to win at least one of his matches.

Then drama unfolded. Vitaliy Sachko led 4:1 and 5:3 in the first set, had three break points at 5:5, but lost them and then gave up his serve while leading 40:15 – 5:7. After that, the match completely slipped out of control – 1:6…

Unanswered Questions

It’s easy to place all the blame on Sachko from the outside, but a significant amount of time has passed since the match, and we have yet to hear explanations from captain Orest Tereshchuk or the Tennis Federation of Ukraine.

It is also interesting to understand why Ilya Biloborodko, who played in the last five doubles matches for the team, was not included in the squad.

The question has repeatedly been raised as to why the strongest players are not called up to the team, especially in light of the personnel shortage. Denis Molchanov remains the best doubles player in the country, yet due to misunderstandings (conflict?) with the Federation, athletes are somehow always left out of the national team.

As a result, Ukraine has quickly transitioned from a contender for the qualifiers to a participant in the third division of the Davis Cup.

Facts and Figures After the Duel with Tunisia

• Orest Tereshchuk relied on a fully capable squad, able to achieve an overall victory, despite low rankings: Vitaliy Sachko (384), Oleksandr Ovcharenko (311), Oleksiy Krutyh (535), Vyacheslav Belinsky (552), and Vladislav Orlov (606).
• Ukraine has played 73 matches in the Davis Cup, suffering 31 defeats (42 victories).
• This is the third consecutive loss. Such a streak has occurred only four times, and twice under Tereshchuk's leadership (2010-2011). The longest losing streak is four matches.
• Sachko played three matches over the weekend and achieved his first victory, which unfortunately became the only one.
• This was Sachko’s first time opening a match in the Davis Cup.
• Krutyh is the most experienced player in the current squad (9 matches) and the most successful (5 victories).
• Ovcharenko marked his first victories for the national team by winning a "live" match that kept the chance for an overall victory alive.
• Sachko and Ovcharenko became the 26th and 27th players to win at least one match for the national team.
• Orest Tereshchuk has captained 14 matches, surpassing Mykhailo Filima (13), and is now the most experienced captain in history. However, in terms of victories (7), he is behind Filima (9) and Oleksandr Dolgopolov Sr. (8).

After a series of unpleasant defeats, the Ukrainian national team has dropped even lower and is now ranked 40th in the world, facing another exotic opponent.

Among the possible opponents – Barbados, Hong Kong, Georgia, South Africa, El Salvador, Estonia, Togo, China, Slovenia, Paraguay, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, and Benin – Ukraine has drawn the Dominican Republic, which ranks 66th in the world rankings.

The basic dates for the match are September 12-14.

Victories and defeats are a natural part of tennis life, and our team will continue its journey, no matter how challenging it may be. However, the main issue is that the losses to Israel and Tunisia passed in complete silence from the leadership and those responsible for the men's national team. Without an open analysis of mistakes and a clear strategy, any defeat risks becoming not a lesson, but a prologue to new failures.

Responsible editor – Stanislav Matushevich.