University of Tennessee Athletics
Saturday, February 21
Knoxville, Tenn.
1 p.m. ET
University of Tennessee
vs
Kentucky
#9 Lady Vols to Open SEC Slate against Kentucky
February 20, 2026 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 9 University of Tennessee women's tennis team (4-1) is set to continue the 2026 dual slate Saturday, as it hosts the Kentucky Wildcats (8-1) to begin conference play.
"In SEC play, everybody wants to win and everyone is capable of coming out and putting up a performance, on any given day, that would allow them to win," Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "If you can embrace that kind of competition, you're going to get better every time you step on the court."
The Lady Vols are coming off the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, at which they collected wins over then-No. 15 Virginia and No. 8 Oklahoma State. After dropping their opening round matchup to then-No. 5 LSU, The Lady Vols claimed singles wins on the top four courts to best the Cavaliers by a score of 4-2. They went on to claim the doubles point and singles wins on courts two, three and four to best the Cowgirls by a score of 4-3, highlighted by a three-set battle to clinch the match on court three by Catherine Aulia.
Tennessee's big wins lofted them to the No. 9 spot in this week's ITA team rankings. Senior Leyla Britez Risso, still undefeated in singles in 2026, was promoted to the No. 25 spot in this week's singles rankings. Senior Catherine Aulia, who picked up the clinching point against Oklahoma State, saw her singles billing move up to No. 61, and Sophomore Francesca Mattioli entered the singles list for the first time this season at the No. 76 spot.
"We're very excited," Aulia said ahead of the conference opener. "We're going to try and just take it one match at a time and improve every week. Obviously, our goal is to bring home a trophy at the end of it all, but now we need to focus on the things that we do well."
Scouting Kentucky
The Wildcats enter Saturday's contest on a six-game winning streak, most recently sweeping a double header against Bellarmine on Wednesday. Though not in ITA's top-75 team rankings, they boast two ranked singles entries in No. 94 Zoe Hammond and No. 119 Julia Zhu. They have played one ranked opponent, then-No. 7 Duke, with the Blue Devils posting a 4-2 victory.
Matchday Information
All Lady Vol Tennis home matches are free to attend, and all seating is general admission. Home matches will take place at Barksdale Tennis Stadium and the Goodfriend Tennis Center on UT's campus. Fans can park at the nearby G7 lot on matchdays.
Click the following links to follow the match on live stream and via live stats.
For all the latest information from Lady Vol Tennis, follow the team on Twitter/X @Vol_WTennis, Instagram @vol_wtennis or Facebook.
"In SEC play, everybody wants to win and everyone is capable of coming out and putting up a performance, on any given day, that would allow them to win," Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "If you can embrace that kind of competition, you're going to get better every time you step on the court."
The Lady Vols are coming off the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, at which they collected wins over then-No. 15 Virginia and No. 8 Oklahoma State. After dropping their opening round matchup to then-No. 5 LSU, The Lady Vols claimed singles wins on the top four courts to best the Cavaliers by a score of 4-2. They went on to claim the doubles point and singles wins on courts two, three and four to best the Cowgirls by a score of 4-3, highlighted by a three-set battle to clinch the match on court three by Catherine Aulia.
Tennessee's big wins lofted them to the No. 9 spot in this week's ITA team rankings. Senior Leyla Britez Risso, still undefeated in singles in 2026, was promoted to the No. 25 spot in this week's singles rankings. Senior Catherine Aulia, who picked up the clinching point against Oklahoma State, saw her singles billing move up to No. 61, and Sophomore Francesca Mattioli entered the singles list for the first time this season at the No. 76 spot.
"We're very excited," Aulia said ahead of the conference opener. "We're going to try and just take it one match at a time and improve every week. Obviously, our goal is to bring home a trophy at the end of it all, but now we need to focus on the things that we do well."
Scouting Kentucky
The Wildcats enter Saturday's contest on a six-game winning streak, most recently sweeping a double header against Bellarmine on Wednesday. Though not in ITA's top-75 team rankings, they boast two ranked singles entries in No. 94 Zoe Hammond and No. 119 Julia Zhu. They have played one ranked opponent, then-No. 7 Duke, with the Blue Devils posting a 4-2 victory.
Matchday Information
All Lady Vol Tennis home matches are free to attend, and all seating is general admission. Home matches will take place at Barksdale Tennis Stadium and the Goodfriend Tennis Center on UT's campus. Fans can park at the nearby G7 lot on matchdays.
Click the following links to follow the match on live stream and via live stats.
For all the latest information from Lady Vol Tennis, follow the team on Twitter/X @Vol_WTennis, Instagram @vol_wtennis or Facebook.
Players Mentioned
Everything Orange S2 I Catherine Aulia (Women's Tennis)
Thursday, March 20
WTN | Alison Ojeda and Sofia Cabezas Postgame vs. UCLA (5.18.24)
Saturday, May 18
WTN | Alison Ojeda and Lauren Anzalotta Media Availability (5.15.24)
Wednesday, May 15
Everything Orange | Alison Ojeda (Women's Tennis)
Thursday, January 18
