Ukrainian tennis players live 'parallel lives' at the Billie Jean King Cup
By Kikue Higuchi, CNN
Updated 1105 GMT (1905 HKT) April 17, 2022
Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska reaching the Lyon WTA final on March 6, just a week after escaping Russian bomb attacks on her home city of Odessa.(CNN)Wearing a shirt decorated with the Ukrainian flag in the shape of a heart, Lyudmyla Kichenok practiced her serve with teammate Dayana Yastremska in an empty arena under the watchful eyes of their captain Olga Savchuk on Thursday.
In Asheville, North Carolina, the Ukrainian women's tennis team is in the midst of their match against Team USA for the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. Meanwhile, bombs rain down on their hometowns as war rages on in Ukraine.«I feel like we have two different realities right now. The tennis court, an amazing atmosphere, amazing arena here. And then on the other side, we have people dying every day,» Katarina Zavatska told CNN Sport.Despite a valiant recovery from 2-0 down, a stunning fightback ultimately fell just short as Team USA edged Ukraine in the deciding doubles game to take the tie 3-2 on Saturday.Yastremska, ranked 93rd in the world, had beaten world No.14 Jessica Pegula before Zavatska pulled off an even bigger upset to defeat Shelby Rogers, ranked 155 places above her to draw Ukraine level at 2-2.Read MoreHowever, a 7-6(5) 6-3 doubles victory for Pegula and Asia Muhammad over Kichenok and Yastremska saw the US progress to the finals in November.Leaving UkraineDayana Yastremska serving against Alison Riske during the first round of the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier on April 15, 2022. Less than three months ago, both Kichenok and Yastremska were far from the tennis court, fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.On February 25, Kichenok left Ukraine with her parents. She
