CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Head coach Brad Dancer announced on Tuesday the addition of French phenom Gabriel Debru to the Fighting Illini's highly touted 2025 signing class. Debru has signed a Big Ten Athletics Aid Agreement with Illinois and will join the program in the fall.
"We are excited to add Gabriel to the Fighting Illini," Dancer said. "We obviously know the family incredibly well and have the utmost respect for how Thomas and Celine have raised their children. Having already been the top-ranked junior player in the world and found success at the Challenger level, Gabriel is a tremendous student and a highly accomplished tennis player, but what we feel sets him apart is his incredible passion. Our fans are going to fall in love with his spirit and zest for competing. We can't wait to get started helping Gabriel on the path to becoming his best."
"I chose to join Illinois because I love the way the coaches train the players and the mentality the team has," Debru said. "After my brother spent three years there, I believe it's going to help me grow a lot — both as a person and as a player. I am really looking forward to becoming part of the Illinois men's tennis program."
One of the highest-rated players to ever compete collegiately, Debru hails from Grenoble, France, and holds career-high ATP rankings of No. 233 in singles and No. 273 in doubles. Since winning his first pro singles title in July 2023, Debru has secured two singles titles in ATP Challenger Tour events, including victories in Troyes, France, in July 2024 and Como, Italy, in August 2024.
He has claimed three singles titles on the ITF tour: M15 Gubbio (Italy) in July 2023, M25 Uriage (France) in July 2024, and M25 Heraklion (Greece) in November 2024.
He has also amassed one ATP Challenger title and two ITF titles in doubles play during his career. He tallied the tournament win at an ATP Challenger event in St. Brieuc, France, in October, in addition to titles at M15 Antalya (Turkey) and M15 Grenoble (France) in 2023.
Still only 19 years old, Debru has competed three times in the singles qualifying rounds at Roland-Garros, one of the four Grand Slam events on the ATP Tour.Â
Prior to his shift into professional tennis, Debru won the singles title at the 2022 Roland-Garros Junior Championships and soon became the top-ranked ITF junior player in the world in July 2022. While competing on the junior circuit, he was a runner-up in the junior doubles bracket at Wimbledon in 2022.
Currently boasting ATP rankings of No. 263 in singles and No. 391 in doubles, Gabriel Debru is the younger brother of Mathis Debru, who graduated in the spring after spending three years with the Fighting Illini men's tennis team.
Gabriel Debru is the fifth member of Illinois' 2025 signing class, joining David Bakonyi, Sasha Colleu, Adam Jilly, and Hayden Jones.
