Blue Devils Rally, Fall Short at Kentucky

Sunday, February 1

Lexington, Ky.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Kentucky

Gerard Planelles Ripoll swings at a ball during a Duke men's tennis practice.

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Rally, Fall Short at Kentucky

2/1/2026 4:11:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky mounted a 3-0 lead before the No. 15 Duke men's tennis team stormed back to cut the deficit to 3-2, only to the have the Wildcats slip past with the final point in a 4-2 victory Sunday afternoon inside the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.

Gerard Planelles Ripoll and Pedro Rodenas tallied the Blue Devis' points with three-set triumphs on court four and two, respectively, as Duke dipped to 4-3 overall while Kentucky improved to 5-2.

How It Happened

For the first time in 2026, Duke dropped the doubles point as Kentucky took decisions on courts two and three.
On court three, Martin Breysach and Antoine Ghibaudo downed Teddy Truwit and Alexander Visser, 6-2. The Kentucky pair led 5-0 before Duke's duo registered two of the last three games.
Duke evened the action on court one, where Pedro Rodenas and Cooper Williams defeated No. 69 Jack Loutit and Eli Stephenson, 6-4. With the set even at 3-3, Duke's pair broke and held for a 5-3 lead. Kentucky got a game back, but Rodenas and Williams held on to improve to 5-0 in 2026.
With all attention on court two, Dylan Long and Gerard Planelles Ripoll pushed Nicolas Arseneault and Jaden Weekes into the tiebreaker, but the Kentucky pair prevailed 7-6 (4). The set was even throughout until it went into the tiebreaker. There, the action was again tight before the Wildcat duo inched ahead 4-3 and did not look back in closing out the match.
Kentucky took the first two singles matches for a 3-0 lead before Duke mounted a comeback and closed the gap to 3-2.
No. 19 Stephenson tallied the Wildcats' second point with a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory against Visser on court three. The opening set was even at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 before Stephenson snuck ahead 6-5. Visser rallied and forced the tiebreaker. Stephenson led 2-0 and 4-1 en route to capturing the set. In the second, Visser led 4-3 before Stephenson won the final three games.
Kentucky pushed its lead to 3-0 with a court one win as Ghibaudo came back and topped Williams, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. In the opening set, Williams led 2-1 and 3-2 before opening a 4-2 advantage. Ghibaudo got within a game at 4-3 and 5-4, but Williams closed out the set. Ghibaudo turned a 3-3 tie in the second set into a set victory by ripping off the final three games. The decisive third set had Williams lead 3-1 before Ghibaudo answered with five of the final six games for the match.
Duke got on the scoreboard with Planelles Ripoll topping No. 26 Loutit, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (3), on court four. Planelles Ripoll started fast with a 3-0 lead in the opening set. He led 4-1 before closing out the set. In the second, Loutit returned the favor with 3-1 and 5-1 advantages from which Planelles Ripoll could not come back. The third set had Loutit continue the momentum and mount a 4-1 lead. This time, Planelles Ripoll had the answer and cut the deficit to just 5-4 before evening the set at 5-5. In the tiebreaker, Loutit took a 2-0 advantage, but Planelles Ripoll stormed past with seven of the final eight points for the match.
The Blue Devils trailed by just one with Rodenas' three-set win on court two. He came back to defeat Arseneault, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-2. In the first set, Arseneault led 2-0 before Rodenas gained a 4-3 advantage. Arseneault tied the set at 5-5 and then took the final two games. Rodenas trailed 3-1 in the second set before answering to knot the set at 3-3. The two remained even at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 to go to the tiebreaker, where Rodenas clung to a 3-2 lead before exploding for the last four points. He burst through the final set by turning a 2-2 tie into four straight wins and the match.
Kentucky added its fourth and final point on court six, where No. 124 Mikael Arseneault downed Saahith Jayaraman, 6-1, 6-1.

Up Next

Duke continues its road swing next weekend with two SEC tests. On Friday, the Blue Devils face Georgia at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Duke is at South Carolina for a 12 p.m. match.

Results
Doubles (3,1,2)
1. Pedro Rodenas/Cooper Williams (DU) def. #69 Jack Loutit/Eli Stephenson (UK) 6-4
2. Nicolas Arseneault/Jaden Weekes (UK) def. Dylan Long/Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Martin Breysach/Antoine Ghibaudo (UK) def. Teddy Truwit/Alexander Visser (DU) 6-2

Singles (3,1,4,2,5)
1. Antoine Ghibaudo (UK) def. Cooper Williams (DU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Nicolas Arseneault (UK) 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
3. #19 Eli Stephenson (UK) def. Alexander Visser (DU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
4. Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) def. #26 Jack Loutit (UK) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Jaden Weekes (UK) def. Dylan Long (DU) 6-3, 6-6 (1-3), unfinished
6. #124 Mikael Arseneault (UK) vs. Saahith Jayaraman (DU) 6-1, 6-1

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