CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 25 Illinois hits the road once again, heading to Kentucky for a rematch against the Wildcats on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.
Riding a three-match winning streak into the weekend, the Fighting Illini (3-2) will play the Wildcats for the second time in a two-week stretch after playing UK at ITA Kickoff Weekend.
The contest marks the penultimate road match on the Orange and Blue's nonconference schedule during the 2026 regular season.
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois closed its doubleheader with a 4-1 ranked win over No. 15 Duke at Atkins Tennis Center on Jan. 30.
After the visitors won the doubles point, the Fighting Illini recorded singles wins at the No. 1, 3, 4, and 6 spots to improve to 3-2 and earn their second ranked victory of the campaign.
The Blue Devils established a 1-0 edge after securing the doubles point behind wins at No. 2 and 3.
The Illini started strong in singles, claiming the opening frame on all six courts. Hayden Jones was ultimately the first to finish, securing a straight-set victory over Duke's Saahith Jayaraman on Court 6.
With the sides battling on the remaining five courts in progress, it was William Mroz who claimed the next Illini singles victory. After fighting off multiple set points, Mroz forced a tiebreaker and eventually took the opening frame, 7-6(3). A break in the sixth game of the second set proved the difference as both players held serve otherwise in Mroz's 6-3 second-set decision and two-set triumph over Alexander Visser.
Just as Duke looked to have generated some momentum, Kenta Miyoshi overcame a late break to fight past Cooper Williams in straight sets on the top singles court. Adam Jilly ultimately clinched the Fighting Illini victory with a gritty 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 decision against Gerard Planelles Ripoll at No. 4 singles.
ABOUT KENTUCKY
Kentucky holds a 5-2 record entering the weekend after sweeping its season-opening doubleheader against Dayton and securing a 5-2 home win over No. 20 Michigan State. Since dropping both matches at ITA Kickoff Weekend against Florida and Illinois, the Wildcats have bounced back with home wins over Louisville and No. 15 Duke.Â
The Wildcats' roster includes two student-athletes ranked among the top 30 singles players in the country – No. 20 Eli Stephenson and No. 30 Jack Loutit. Stephenson and Loutit are the nation's No. 35th-ranked doubles tandem.
SERIES HISTORY
Illinois holds a 18-22 deficit in the all-time series with Kentucky, with the Wildcats winning three of the last four matchups. The two teams met two weeks ago, at ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 24, when Illinois won the matchup, 4-2.
ITA RANKINGS ROUNDUP
Team
Singles
- No. 12: Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois)
- No. 20: Eli Stephenson (Kentucky)
- No. 30: Jack Loutit (Kentucky)
- No. 65: Gabriel Debru (Illinois)
- No. 73: Charlelie Cosnet (Kentucky)
- No. 86: Nicolas Arseneault (Kentucky)
- No. 125: Adam Jilly (Illinois)
Doubles
- No. 35: Eli Stephenson/Jack Loutit (Kentucky)
- No. 37: Kenta Miyoshi/Adam Jilly (Illinois)
- No. 67: Antoine Ghibaudo/Martin Breysach (Kentucky)
ILLINOIS BRINGS IN FIVE FRESHMEN IN HIGHLY TOUTED 2025 RECRUITING CLASS
The Fighting Illini brought in five freshmen for the 2025-26 season: David Bakonyi, Sasha Colleu, Gabriel Debru, Adam Jilly, and Hayden Jones. Illinois' 2025 recruiting class was ranked No. 2 in the nation by the Tennis Recruiting Network in May, though that ranking came prior to the high-profile signing of Debru in June.
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. He has secured two singles titles in ATP Challenger Tour events, along with three singles titles on the ITF tour. He has also amassed one ATP Challenger title and two ITF titles in doubles play during his career. 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. 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.
With a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 8, Jones holds career-best ATP rankings of No. 970 in singles and No. 602 in doubles. He has earned wild-card entries into singles qualifying for the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and was named the 2024 Australian Tennis Junior Male Athlete of the Year.
Colleu, a blue-chip recruit from Florida, was the 16th-ranked American in the Tennis Recruiting Network's Class of 2025 rankings. Colleu has won two junior doubles titles, securing tournament wins at J100 Quebec City in September and J100 Mexico City in October. With five singles titles on the ITF juniors circuit, Colleu most recently claimed the singles tournament win at J100 Delray Beach on April 26.
David Bakonyi and Adam Jilly were part of the Illini's previously No. 9-ranked class in TRN's winter recruiting rankings. Bakonyi has a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 182, along with three junior singles and 13 junior doubles titles. Jilly has a career-best ITF junior ranking of No. 111, amassing four junior singles and nine junior doubles titles. Having already played together in doubles on the junior circuit, Bakonyi and Jilly have teamed up for eight junior doubles titles, including three during the 2024 season.
COLLEU EARNS B1G FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS (JAN. 21)
Freshman Sasha Colleu was named the Big Ten Men's Tennis Freshman of the Week following the Fighting Illini's season opener on Jan. 16, the conference office announced on Jan. 21.
Colleu earned the distinction after winning both his singles and doubles matches in Illinois' season-opening contest against No. 7 Mississippi State at Atkins Tennis Center, during which Colleu made his dual debut.
The Miami native teamed up with fellow freshman Gabriel Debru to register a 6-0 victory over the Bulldogs' Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano on Court 2, helping the Orange and Blue claim the doubles point. In singles play, Colleu secured a straight-set victory over No. 34-ranked Bryan Hernandez Cortes. Breaking twice within the first three games, the freshman tallied a 6-3 decision in the opening frame before posting a bagel in the second set en route to his 6-3, 6-0 win.
Colleu's recognition marked the first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors of his career.
MROZ NAMED TO B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Fighting Illini senior William Mroz was named to the Big Ten's Men's Tennis Players to Watch list, the conference office announced on Jan. 9.
He was one of 14 Big Ten student-athletes to secure a spot on the Big Ten Men's Tennis Players to Watch list. Mroz enters his final year at Illinois during the 2026 dual season.
During the Illini's 2024-25 campaign, the Florida native secured All-Big Ten Second Team status for the first time in his career, posting a 20-9 overall mark and a 5-1 conference record on the singles courts. He also found success in doubles, finishing the year with a 17-9 tally overall and a 7-2 record in doubles play in the Big Ten.
An Academic All-Big Ten honoree, he climbed as high as No. 30 in the ITA singles rankings, which came in the final rankings of the fall season. He ultimately closed the 2024-25 slate at No. 81.
MIYOSHI SECURES ITA SINGLES ALL-AMERICA HONORS IN NOVEMBER
Illinois senior Kenta Miyoshi secured ITA Singles All-America honors for the second consecutive season before closing his time at the NCAA Singles Championship in the third round on Thursday.
The Japan native made his second straight appearance at the NCAA Singles Championship, finishing with two ranked wins during his time at the USTA National Campus in Florida.
Miyoshi began his run with a straight-set win over UC Santa Barbara's No. 96-ranked Dominique Rolland in the opening round of singles action on Tuesday night. He then defeated No. 16 Edward Winter of Pepperdine in the second round in straight sets, helping him secure ITA All-American status and a spot in the third round for the second straight season.
His run ultimately came to a close in the third round with a two-set defeat to #22-ranked Trevor Svajda of SMU.
