TEMPE – Sun Devil Women’s Tennis opens its 2026 dual season with a trio of home matches at Whiteman Tennis Center this weekend. The action begins on Saturday, Jen. 17 against UC Davis at 11 a.m. MST, before playing Grand Canyon at 4 p.m. MST. The weekend wraps up at 12 p.m. MST on Sunday, Jan. 18, when the Sun Devils take on No. 19 USC.
Live stats can be found on StatBroadcast for all three matches, and admission is free.
The program boasts six returners: Juniors Sara Svetac, Emilija Tverijonaite, Karsyn Evans, sophomores Lily Taylor, Aiya Nupbay and Karin Altori. The team is aiming for its 38th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 40th overall after making the Round of 32 last season.
Sun Devil notables
- The Sun Devils are 10-0 in their last 10 season openers.
- In the Big 12 Preseason Tennis Poll released on Jan. 6, the Sun Devils were picked to finish third in the conference and received one first-place vote.
- Last Sunday, Emilija Tverijonaite won her 60th career singles match and has won 72.2 percent (60-23) of her singles matches.
- Freshman Sarang Lim and Zlata Bartanusz are expected to make their Sun Devil debuts this weekend.
- Graduate Vivian Ovrootsky went 12-6 during the fall in singles and has a career singles record of 82-34.
- In their first season competing in the Big 12, the Sun Devils went 15-10 and 8-5 in conference, including a quarterfinal appearance in the Big 12 Tournament.
- Head coach Jamea Jackson is two wins away from 50 career wins as a head coach, compiling a 15-10 record at ASU and a 33-14 record while at Princeton.
- The Sun Devils had three All-Big 12 selections last season: Sara Svetac and Emilija Tverijonaite were named to the All-Big 12 First Team in singles; Patricija Spaka and Lily Taylor to the All-Big 12 Second Team in doubles. Taylor was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team last season for going 11-8 in singles and 12-6 in doubles.
- The Sun Devils are 11-0 all-time against UC Davis and 13-0 against Grand Canyon. ASU historically is 27-59 against USC.
Opponent outlook
UC Davis
- The Aggies open their season on Friday against Arizona in Tucson, before traveling north to face the Sun Devils on Saturday.
- The team went 11-14 last season and fell in the second round of the Big West tournament to Long Beach State, 4-0.
- In their last tournament of the Fall, they earned six victories in singles play and three wins in doubles.
- The Aggies face the Sun Devils for the first time since Jan. 13, 2024.
Grand Canyon
- The Lopes and the Sun Devils face off for the first time since Jan. 14, 2023.
- GCU won its third consecutive WAC title last season and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament before eventually falling to Texas.
- The Lopes will open the season against UC San Diego on Saturday morning before facing ASU that afternoon.
No. 19 USC (2-0)
- The Trojans opened their season on Tuesday with two wins over UC Santa Barbara (4-1) and LMU (4-0).
- In the preseason ITA rankings, the Trojans are ranked No. 19 in the country.
- The team has five players in the ITA singles rankings from Nov. 25, 2025.
- Emma Charney - No. 12
- Jana Hossam Salah - No. 16
- Eugenia Zozaya Menendez - No. 62
- Krisha Mahendran - No. 74
- Imogen Haddad - No. 96
- Daniela Borruel and Lily Fairclough are the No. 6-ranked doubles pair and H
- Hossam Salah and Krisha Mahendran are No. 51 in the ITA Doubles Rankings.
In their first season competing in the Big Ten, USC went 17-8 and 9-4 in conference play.