TEMPE, Ariz. – The Illinois women's tennis program has been selected to host the 2025 and 2026 ITA Division I Women's National Team Indoor Championships, the organization announced on Thursday. Illinois will co-host the newly reformatted event with Northwestern, and both teams will receive wild cards to participate in the events.
"We are thrilled to be selected to host the ITA National Women's Indoor Championships in Champaign in 2025 and 2026," shared Fighting Illini women's tennis head coach Evan Clark. "We would like to thank Dave Mullins, Cory Brooks, and the entire ITA staff for providing the University of Illinois the opportunity to host such a prestigious event on our campus.
"We believe we have the facility, staff, and community to put on a world-class event that highlights the best of what women's college tennis has to offer. We are confident with our extensive experience hosting national championships that we will once again provide a wonderful experience for the student-athletes and coaches competing in the event. We look forward to welcoming everyone to the University of Illinois and Champaign in 2025 and 2026."
As one of the most prestigious championships on the college tennis calendar, the new regional hosting format will see play split between two host schools within 200 miles of each other with the aim of enhancing the in-person viewing experience, the student-athlete experience, as well as the broadcast production throughout the entire event.
Both Illinois and Northwestern will be joined by seven additional teams at their respective campus sites. Both schools will host the opening two rounds of play. After the second round, the two semifinalists from the secondary site (Illinois) will travel to the primary site (Northwestern), while all four (4) semifinalists will be given the day off for travel, rest, and practice. For teams in the back draw, they will remain at the site in which they began and will play their third and final matches during the semifinalists' off day. Day four in the new format will feature the semifinal matches, with the finals to follow on day five.
During these two years, Northwestern will be designated as the final site and will host both semifinal matches as well as the finals at its facility.
ITA Kickoff Weekend will be reduced from 15 sites (60 teams) to 14 sites (56 teams) to accommodate the new regional hosting format.
SMU and Baylor have been selected as the co-hosts for the 2025 and 2026 events on the men's side.
Most recently, Illinois hosted the 2022 NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships as well as in 2013. The Fighting Illini also hosted the ITA Division I Women's National Team Indoor Championships in 2020 from the XS Tennis Village in Chicago.
More details about the upcoming ITA Division I Men's and Women's National Team Indoor Championships will be released in the months to come.
