CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini were well-represented in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's first rankings for the 2025-26 season, which were released on Tuesday. Illinois saw three student-athletes earn recognition in the singles rankings, two doubles pairs secure spots in the doubles list, and three freshmen collect honors in the newcomer poll.
Freshman Gabriel Debru claimed spots in all three polls, checking in as the top-ranked newcomer in the country while also coming in at No. 2 in the doubles rankings alongside Kenta Miyoshi and No. 72 in the singles listing. Debru – a native of Grenoble, France – arrives at Illinois with an already impressive resume, entering the fall with five pro singles and three pro doubles titles. With career-high ATP rankings of No. 233 in singles and No. 273 in doubles, the former top-ranked junior player in the world and 2022 Roland-Garros Junior champion looks to make an immediate impact for the Orange and Blue this season.
Along with his No. 2 spot in the doubles rankings, senior Kenta Miyoshi enters his final campaign with the Fighting Illini at No. 6 in the ITA singles rankings. After being named the Big Ten Player of the Year, an ITA All-American, a First Team Academic All-American, and the ITA National Player to Watch as a junior last year, Miyoshi records the highest singles ranking of his collegiate career, surpassing his previous best mark of No. 10, which he earned at the end of his historic 2025 spring season.
Senior William Mroz is the final Illini in the singles rankings, occupying the No. 40 slot. After entering the ITA listing for the first time during the 2024-25 slate, Mroz went on to earn All-Big Ten Second Team honors while climbing as high as No. 30 nationally. Leading the team with 12 dual doubles victories, the Florida native finished the season at No. 81 in the singles rankings while amassing 20 total singles triumphs.
Tyler Bowers and Zach Viiala are back in the ITA doubles rankings after achieving that accolade for the first time during the 2024-25 season, posting a No. 54 listing in the preseason rankings. Bowers/Viiala reached as high as No. 52 last year, advancing to the doubles final at the ITA Midwest Regional in October. The pair recorded two ranked triumphs as a partnership and tallied seven total wins while playing together.
Freshmen Adam Jilly and Hayden Jones rounded out the Illini representatives in the newcomer rankings, coming in at No. 10 and No. 11, respectively. Jilly, a native of Hungary, holds a career-best ITF junior ranking of No. 111 while amassing four junior singles and nine junior doubles titles. He represented his home country at the Davis Cup in February, and he boasts career-high ATP rankings of No. 1122 in singles and No. 1076 in doubles.
Arriving at Illinois from Gold Coast, Australia, Jones was named the 2024 Australian Tennis Junior Male Athlete of the Year after being a finalist in 2022 and 2023. Boasting a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 8, Jones has won six junior singles and three junior doubles titles across his career. Having represented Australia at the 2022 Junior Davis Cup, Jones has also already played at the junior level of all four Grand Slam events while earning wild-card entries into singles qualifying for the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025. He has posted career-best ATP marks of No. 970 in singles and No. 602 in doubles.
Illinois is the only program in the country with three student-athletes in the men's newcomer rankings, while the Illini are one of two programs (along with Columbia) with players in the top 10 of both the singles and doubles rankings.
Individually, Debru and Miyoshi are Illinois' highest-ranked doubles pair in the ITA preseason rankings since 2014, when Ross Guignon and Tim Kopinski also came in at No. 2. Miyoshi is the Illini's highest-ranked singles player in the preseason poll since the 2019-20 season, when Aleks Kovacevic also came in at No. 6.
ITA Preseason Rankings (Aug. 26, 2025)
Singles
Doubles
Newcomers
