OU Tennis Takes on Arizona, Abilene Christian in Opening Weekend

NORMAN – The No. 21 Oklahoma men's tennis kicks off the spring season with a pair of weekend matches at the Headington Family Tennis Center. The Sooners host a Friday night thriller against No. 11 Arizona on Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. followed by Abilene Christian on Sunday, Jan. 18, at noon.

Fans in attendance at Friday's Crimson-Out match have the chance to win a football signed by football head coach Brent Venables. Free pom poms will be available for Sunday's match.

Match Day Basics

Friday's match against Arizona can be followed through live stream or live stats. Fans can also tune into Sunday's match against Abilene Christian through live stats or live stream.

More information about Sooner men's tennis can be found here.

The Sooners' 2026 home matches at the Headington Family Tennis Center will be open to the public and free of charge. Due to the elimination of concessions, fans are encouraged to bring their own food and drinks. OU also follows a clear bag policy.

Sooners in the Fall

Oklahoma had a successful fall season, seeing four players qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships in Orlando, Fla.

Sophomore Oscar Lacides qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row to compete in singles. Lacides qualified for singles alongside senior Luis Alvarez and the pair shared the regional champion title. Freshman Johann Rodriguez arrived in Norman in time to compete in the ITA Central Regional Tournament where he played in both the singles and doubles draws. On the singles side, Rodriguez advanced to the semifinals where he faced teammate Lacides. In doubles, the freshman from Colombia paired up with sophomore Orel Kimhi. The duo advanced to the championship match of the regional tournament and came away with the champion title and a qualifying spot in the NCAA tournament.

In the Rankings

Oklahoma sits at the No. 21 spot in the first ITA team rankings of the season. In the most recent ITA individual rankings, three Sooners sit inside the top-75 with Alvarez at No. 46, Lacides at No. 57 and sophomore Asahi Harazaki at No. 74. Rodriguez and Kimhi round out the ranked Sooners at the No. 30 spot in doubles.

Players to Watch

Two freshman Sooners make their spring debuts in this weekend's matches. Rodriguez will play his first dual match for Oklahoma alongside the newest men's tennis addition, Luka Talan Lopatic. Talan Lopatic hails from Slovenia and brings a 13.12 UTR and a career-high junior world ranking of No. 56 to the Sooner squad.

Scouting the Opponents

Arizona comes to Norman as the No. 11 ranked team in the nation. Senior All-American Jay Friend leads the pack with a No. 4 singles ranking in the nation. Other ranked Arizona players include No. 58 Filip Gustafsson, No. 106 Matthias Uwe Kask and No. 107 Pepijn Bastiaansen. Oklahoma has faced Arizona 10 times in program history and notched seven wins.

The Sooners will face Abilene Christian for the seventh time in program history and the first time since the 2022 season. Oklahoma has never dropped a match to the Wildcats and will look to keep an unbeaten record in the series.

Up Next

Oklahoma heads west to Berkeley, Calif. to compete at ITA Kickoff Weekend for a spot at the ITA National Indoor Championships. The Sooners take on the Cal Golden Bears on Saturday, Jan. 23 followed by either UCF or USC on Sunday, Jan. 24.

Follow the Sooners

For updates, follow @OU_MTennis on Instagram and X or like Oklahoma Men's Tennis on Facebook.