No. 8 Kentucky Hosts Memphis, Travels to Louisville
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Less than a week after earning its first ranked win of the season and clinching a berth to the 2025 ITA Indoor National Championships, No. 8 Kentucky (4-1, 0-0 SEC) will close out its three-match homestand against Memphis on Thursday, January 30 before traveling down Interstate-64 to clash with Louisville on Sunday, February 2. The matchup with the Tigers will begin at 5 p.m. ET at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center while Sunday’s Battle of the Bluegrass is set for a Noon ET first serve at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville.
Last week, Kentucky clinched its 24th all-time berth to the ITA Indoor National Championships over the weekend, going 2-0 at the Lexington Regional of ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Wildcats swept through the bracket, defeating Santa Clara and No. 20 Arizona State by identical 4-0 score lines. Since the inception of Kickoff Weekend in 2009, the Wildcats have now won their regional seven times. Kentucky will be one of eight teams in the Dallas host site, played at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex at SMU. The Cats will be joined by Michigan, NC State, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia, Wake Forest, and the host Mustangs.
A pair of Wildcats remain undefeated on the dual season, led by SEC Player of the Week Jack Loutit. The Auckland, New Zealand native holds pristine records of 5-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles, only having dropped one set in the 2025 calendar year. The 2024 NCAA Singles Qualifier already has a ranked win on the season—against No. 40 Matthew Forbes of Michigan State—and clinched Kentucky’s 4-0 win over No. 20 Arizona State with a comeback win over Nicola Cigna.
Loutit’s doubles partner, Eli Stephenson, also is undefeated in 2025 holding a 4-0 singles record and a 3-0 doubles record. Stephenson currently holds a collegiate singles win-loss record of 28-4 (.875) and a collegiate dual singles record of 21-1 (.954).
Antoine Ghibaudo—the No. 1 Newcomer in the country according to the ITA—enjoyed a breakout ITA Kickoff Weekend, going 4-0 across singles and doubles in only his second and third collegiate duals. The freshman from Paris, France went 2-0 at No. 3 Doubles alongside compatriot Charlelie Cosnet, clinching the doubles point for Kentucky against No. 20 Arizona State in a tiebreaker. Ghibaudo, playing at No. 1 singles, clinched the Wildcats’ 4-0 win over Santa Clara and secured a comeback 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over All-Pac 12 First Team selection Bor Artnak of Arizona State.
Memphis enters Thursday’s match with a 2-3 record after advancing to the final of the Winston-Salem ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Tigers defeated North Carolina in the opening round before falling to No. 4 Wake Forest. Memphis also holds a win over UAB and losses to Ole Miss and Clemson. A season ago, Memphis finished No. 27 in the ITA rankings after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating North Carolina before losing to Tennessee. The Tigers return Pablo Alemany, the 2024 AAC Player of the Year to the 2025 squad.
Louisville comes into Sunday’s Battle of the Bluegrass with a 4-2 record, winning their first four matches at home before suffering a pair of defeats at the Columbus ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Cardinals hold a power four win over Northwestern in addition to a pair of victories over EKU and a win against Xavier. Louisville’s losses came at the hands of No. 3 Ohio State and Denver. Two-time doubles All-American Natan Rodrigues return for the Cards in his senior season.
Kentucky has never lost to Louisville, holding a perfect 29-0 series record. A season ago, Kentucky defeated Louisville 6-1 in Lexington
All home matches will be played at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex and admission is free to the public for all regular season contests. A live stream will be provided for all home matches on UKAthletics.com.
For the latest on UK Men’s Tennis, follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram at @UKMensTennis.
