Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis at Illinois on January 30, 2026 at 6 p.m.
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6 p.m.
Men's Tennis
at Illinois
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Makes Weekend Visits to Illinois and Kentucky
1/29/2026 12:24:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Match 6
[15] Duke at Illinois – Friday at 6 p.m.
Watch | Live Results
Match 7
[15] Duke at Kentucky – Sunday at 12 p.m.
Watch | Live Results
DURHAM, N.C. – Fresh off its ITA Kickoff Weekend Championship match appearance, the No. 15 Duke men's tennis team returns to action for two road weekend tests. The Blue Devils (4-1) travel to Illinois (1-2) Friday evening and Kentucky (3-2) Sunday afternoon.
RANKED NO. 15 AS A TEAM
In this week's national rankings, Duke moved up from No. 18 to No. 15. It is the highest ranking for the Blue Devils since standing at No. 15 the opening week of April 2025. Duke is one of seven top-25 ACC squads with Wake Forest (No. 1), Virginia (No. 2) and Stanford (No. 3) the top three.
A TOP-10 VICTORY
Duke's ranking rise was boosted by its third top-10 victory in the last two seasons as the Blue Devils knocked off No. 9 NC State 4-2 to open the ITA Kickoff Weekend last Friday. Last year, Duke topped No. 5 Virginia 5-2 on February 28 and No. 5 NC State 4-3 on April 18.
RODENAS AND WILLIAMS' UNBEATEN WEEKEND
Duke's No. 1 doubles team of Pedro Rodenas and Cooper Williams turned in an outstanding ITA Kickoff Weekend, going 2-0 and dropping just four games in matching 6-2 victories.
Friday versus NC State, Duke's pair hopped ahead 3-1 and never looked back. Saturday against No. 11 Texas A&M, the Blue Devil duo turned a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 lead before closing out the match.
Rodenas and Williams are now 4-0 in doubles in 2026.
RODENAS STRONG ON COURT TWO
In singles, Rodenas is 4-0 in 2026. He went 2-0 during ITA Kickoff action, topping NC State's Jules Lerous 6-3, 6-2 and Texas A&M's No. 73 Alex Frusina 6-4, 6-0. Dating back to the 2025 campaign, Rodenas is 11-1 on court two, dropping just a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Columbia's Nicolas Kotzen, ranked No. 40, at the ITA Team Indoor Championship.
HISTORY WITH ILLINOIS
Friday's contest will be the 32nd between the two with the Fighting Illini holding a 20-11 edge in the series. Since 1999, the teams have met annually except for 2021. Duke has won four of the last five against Illinois, capturing a 4-1 victory last January in Durham.
Rodenas registered a singles and doubles win versus the Fighting Illini last year while Williams went unfinished in singles. In 2023, Rodenas won 6-3, 6-2 on court three, setting the stage for Garrett John's clinching to complete Duke's comeback.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois is 1-2 after splitting at its ITA Kickoff Weekend in New York City and dropping a 5-2 decision to No. 7 Mississippi State on January 16. The Fighting Illini fell 4-3 at No. 13 Columbia in the kickoff opener before topping Kentucky 4-2. Two Illini are ranked in singles with No. 10 Kenta Miyoshi and No. 87 Adam Jilly. Illinois is a combined 3-6 on its top three singles courts and 5-3 on courts four through six. The doubles pair of Jilly and Miyoshi has gone 2-1 in the top position.
HISTORY WITH KENTUCKY
The Blue Devils and Wildcats have faced off 25 times with Duke leading the all-time series 15-10. After facing each other annually from 2013-24, the two resume the series this weekend in Lexington. In the 2024 contest, Duke snapped a three-match losing streak with a 4-3 victory.
In 2024, Duke took the doubles point before Kentucky rallied with the first two singles wins and three of the first four to lead 3-2. Duke answered with the final two singles triumphs for the comeback. Duke's Alexander Visser lost 7-5, 6-4 setback on court six while No. 47 Rodenas downed No. 27 Taha Baadi 7-5, 6-4 on court one.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Kentucky holds a 3-2 record with victories against Dayton (6-1 and 4-0) and Michigan State (5-2). In their last match, the Wildcats lost 4-2 to Illinois at the ITA Kickoff Weekend. UK brings a trio of ranked singles players into action with No. 19 Eli Stephenson, No. 26 Jack Loutit and No. 124 Mikael Arseneault. The doubles pair of Stephenson and Loutit is ranked No. 69. Stephenson is 4-0 in dual singles action while Loutit is 2-1. The pair is 3-1 in doubles competition.
UP NEXT
Duke stays on the road for another weekend, traveling to Georgia for a 5:30 p.m. Friday, February 6 match before heading to South Carolina for a 12 p.m. Sunday, February 8 match.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMTEN".
#GoDuke
[15] Duke at Illinois – Friday at 6 p.m.
Watch | Live Results
Match 7
[15] Duke at Kentucky – Sunday at 12 p.m.
Watch | Live Results
DURHAM, N.C. – Fresh off its ITA Kickoff Weekend Championship match appearance, the No. 15 Duke men's tennis team returns to action for two road weekend tests. The Blue Devils (4-1) travel to Illinois (1-2) Friday evening and Kentucky (3-2) Sunday afternoon.
RANKED NO. 15 AS A TEAM
In this week's national rankings, Duke moved up from No. 18 to No. 15. It is the highest ranking for the Blue Devils since standing at No. 15 the opening week of April 2025. Duke is one of seven top-25 ACC squads with Wake Forest (No. 1), Virginia (No. 2) and Stanford (No. 3) the top three.
A TOP-10 VICTORY
Duke's ranking rise was boosted by its third top-10 victory in the last two seasons as the Blue Devils knocked off No. 9 NC State 4-2 to open the ITA Kickoff Weekend last Friday. Last year, Duke topped No. 5 Virginia 5-2 on February 28 and No. 5 NC State 4-3 on April 18.
RODENAS AND WILLIAMS' UNBEATEN WEEKEND
Duke's No. 1 doubles team of Pedro Rodenas and Cooper Williams turned in an outstanding ITA Kickoff Weekend, going 2-0 and dropping just four games in matching 6-2 victories.
Friday versus NC State, Duke's pair hopped ahead 3-1 and never looked back. Saturday against No. 11 Texas A&M, the Blue Devil duo turned a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 lead before closing out the match.
Rodenas and Williams are now 4-0 in doubles in 2026.
RODENAS STRONG ON COURT TWO
In singles, Rodenas is 4-0 in 2026. He went 2-0 during ITA Kickoff action, topping NC State's Jules Lerous 6-3, 6-2 and Texas A&M's No. 73 Alex Frusina 6-4, 6-0. Dating back to the 2025 campaign, Rodenas is 11-1 on court two, dropping just a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Columbia's Nicolas Kotzen, ranked No. 40, at the ITA Team Indoor Championship.
HISTORY WITH ILLINOIS
Friday's contest will be the 32nd between the two with the Fighting Illini holding a 20-11 edge in the series. Since 1999, the teams have met annually except for 2021. Duke has won four of the last five against Illinois, capturing a 4-1 victory last January in Durham.
Rodenas registered a singles and doubles win versus the Fighting Illini last year while Williams went unfinished in singles. In 2023, Rodenas won 6-3, 6-2 on court three, setting the stage for Garrett John's clinching to complete Duke's comeback.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois is 1-2 after splitting at its ITA Kickoff Weekend in New York City and dropping a 5-2 decision to No. 7 Mississippi State on January 16. The Fighting Illini fell 4-3 at No. 13 Columbia in the kickoff opener before topping Kentucky 4-2. Two Illini are ranked in singles with No. 10 Kenta Miyoshi and No. 87 Adam Jilly. Illinois is a combined 3-6 on its top three singles courts and 5-3 on courts four through six. The doubles pair of Jilly and Miyoshi has gone 2-1 in the top position.
HISTORY WITH KENTUCKY
The Blue Devils and Wildcats have faced off 25 times with Duke leading the all-time series 15-10. After facing each other annually from 2013-24, the two resume the series this weekend in Lexington. In the 2024 contest, Duke snapped a three-match losing streak with a 4-3 victory.
In 2024, Duke took the doubles point before Kentucky rallied with the first two singles wins and three of the first four to lead 3-2. Duke answered with the final two singles triumphs for the comeback. Duke's Alexander Visser lost 7-5, 6-4 setback on court six while No. 47 Rodenas downed No. 27 Taha Baadi 7-5, 6-4 on court one.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Kentucky holds a 3-2 record with victories against Dayton (6-1 and 4-0) and Michigan State (5-2). In their last match, the Wildcats lost 4-2 to Illinois at the ITA Kickoff Weekend. UK brings a trio of ranked singles players into action with No. 19 Eli Stephenson, No. 26 Jack Loutit and No. 124 Mikael Arseneault. The doubles pair of Stephenson and Loutit is ranked No. 69. Stephenson is 4-0 in dual singles action while Loutit is 2-1. The pair is 3-1 in doubles competition.
UP NEXT
Duke stays on the road for another weekend, traveling to Georgia for a 5:30 p.m. Friday, February 6 match before heading to South Carolina for a 12 p.m. Sunday, February 8 match.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMTEN".
#GoDuke
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