Kentucky Men’s Tennis Releases 2026 Spring Schedule
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky men’s tennis has finalized its complete 2026 schedule, head coach Cedric Kauffmann announced Wednesday. The Wildcats are set to play 24 regular season matches, including 15 at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington and 20 matches against either top 25 or Power Four opposition.
The Wildcats will open their season with eight of their ten non-conference matches in the Bluegrass. The season will start on Wednesday, January 14 with a doubleheader against Dayton. The opening week of play will conclude on Sunday, January 18 against Michigan State—a NCAA Tournament team from 2025.
Kentucky will then traverse to the Big Apple for the 2026 ITA Kickoff Weekend, hosted by Columbia from January 23-24. The Cats will open against Florida on Friday, January 23 and will play either Columbia or Illinois on Saturday, January 24—depending on Friday’s results. Should the Wildcats win both matches in New York, they would advance to the 2026 ITA National Indoor Championships. The 16-team event will be hosted by Baylor and SMU from February 13-17.
After Kickoff Weekend, the Cats will return home for the Battle of the Bluegrass, hosting Louisville on Friday, January 30. Kentucky will host another NCAA Tournament team from a season ago—Duke—on Sunday, February 1. Non-conference play will wrap up the following week with a doubleheader against NKU on Friday, February 6 and a standalone match against Illinois on Sunday, February 8.
Southeastern Conference play will begin with a border battle on Saturday, February 23, as the Cats welcome Tennessee to the Boone. Kentucky will continue a three-match homestand to begin SEC play with matches against Texas A&M on Monday, February 23 and Florida on Friday, February 27.
Kentucky will take its first SEC road trip to Norman for a showdown against Oklahoma on Friday, March 6. The Cats will continue on the road with a match at Arkansas on Sunday, March 8.
The Wildcats will welcome Alabama on Friday, March 13 and Auburn on Sunday, March 15 before traveling to Columbia for a contest at South Carolina on Friday, March 20. Kentucky will return home for a split weekend, facing defending SEC champion Texas at the Boone on Sunday, March 22.
The penultimate month of the regular season will conclude on the road, as the Wildcats play at Vanderbilt on Friday, March 27 and at Mississippi State on Sunday, March 29.
Kentucky will host its final home match of the regular season on Saturday, April 4 against Georgia before traveling to LSU on Friday, April 10 and Ole Miss on Friday, April 12 to wrap up play.
The 2026 SEC Tournament will be held from April 15-19 at the Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds will be contested from May 1-3, with Super Regionals on either May 8-9 and the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. from May 14-17.
The Wildcats return seven athletes from a 2025 squad that advanced to the program’s ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament. Highlighted returns include All-SEC athletes Antoine Ghibaudo, Jaden Weekes, and Charlelie Cosnet, as well as 2025 NCAA Singles Qualifiers and 2025 ITA Doubles All-Americans Jack Loutit and Eli Stephenson. New to the 2025-26 roster are twin brothers Nicolas and Mikael Arseneault—the top two junior players from Canada.
For the latest on UK Men’s Tennis, follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram at @UKMensTennis.
