The UCLA men’s tennis team, currently ranked 10th nationally, is set to host ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Los Angeles Tennis Center starting Friday. The event brings together New Mexico, Pacific, and UC Santa Barbara for a series of matches that will determine which team advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship next month.
UCLA will face New Mexico on Friday at 1 p.m. PT, while UC Santa Barbara and Pacific open the weekend with a match at 10 a.m. PT. The winners from these initial contests will compete on Saturday at 1 p.m., with the consolation match scheduled for Sunday morning. Admission to all matches is free, and fans can follow live scoring and streaming online via https://ucla.in/3iQZgjc.
This marks the first time since 2020 that UCLA has hosted ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Bruins enter the event with a strong record against their opponents: they lead their all-time series against New Mexico 9-0, against UC Santa Barbara 33-1, and against Pacific 3-0.
In their most recent outing, UCLA defeated UC Irvine 7-0 in its season opener last Saturday. Cassius Chinlund clinched the victory in his dual-match debut. Andy Nguyen also won his first match as a Bruin after transferring from UCI.
During the fall season, four Bruins participated in NCAA Championship individual draws for singles and doubles events. Spencer Johnson and Rudy Quan reached the singles final at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships to secure their spots. Johnson paired with Emon van Loben Sels to win the regional doubles title.
As of January 21, UCLA is ranked No. 10 as a team. In singles rankings released November 25, Emon van Loben Sels stands at No. 20 nationally; Rudy Quan is No. 53; Spencer Johnson is No. 75. For doubles teams, Johnson/van Loben Sels are ranked No.19 while Quan/Aadarsh Tripathi hold the No.47 spot.
Recent individual honors include Rudy Quan being named Men’s Tennis Player to Watch in Big Ten (January 9) and Spencer Johnson earning Big Ten Player of the Week (October 22).
Last season saw UCLA finish with a record of 19-9 overall and an impressive run through Big Ten play (11-2). The Bruins captured their first-ever Big Ten Tournament championship by defeating top-seeded Ohio State on April 27—ending Ohio State’s long home winning streak dating back to 2021—and advanced to their first NCAA Championship quarterfinal round by beating USC.
Returning players this year include Emon van Loben Sels (who led last season with a singles record of 24-9), All-Americans Spencer Johnson and Aadarsh Tripathi, as well as Rudy Quan who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year after playing primarily on court one.
New additions for this season are Cassius Chinlund—a former top-ranked junior—Andy Nguyen from UC Irvine where he was twice an all-conference honoree, and Bengt Reinhard from Germany who has claimed national titles in his age group there.
Former Bruins such as Maxime Cressy, Marcos Giron (currently ATP world No.51), Mackenzie McDonald, and Jean-Julien Rojer continue competing professionally across Grand Slam tournaments and ATP events worldwide.
Head coach Billy Martin enters his thirty-third year leading UCLA men’s tennis—with an overall coaching record of 677-175 (.795). Under Martin’s tenure since joining staff over four decades ago, UCLA has secured numerous conference championships—including its recent Big Ten title—and developed several NCAA singles and doubles champions.
