ELON, N.C. – Elon University Director of Athletics Jennifer Strawley named Maciek Sykut as the next head coach for Elon's men's tennis program Monday.
 
Sykut will take over for Michael Leonard, who retired at the end of the 2023-24 season following 20 years leading the program. He will be the third head men's tennis coach in Elon's Division I history.
 
"I am thrilled to be welcomed into the Phoenix family as Head Men's Tennis Coach for Elon University," Sykut said. "Eagerly, I will begin collaborating with our student-athletes, athletics department and community. My sincerest gratitude to Jenn Strawley and her team for entrusting me with this incredible opportunity, and a big thank you to Michael Leonard for believing in me for this role."
 
At Duke, Sykut served as an assistant coach for two years before being elevated to associate head coach in 2022. The 2022-23 ITA Assistant Coach of the Year, Sykut has helped guide the Blue Devils to 71 wins and four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also assisted in the development of four NCAA All-American selections, six NCAA qualifiers, seven All-ACC honorees and the 2023 ACC Freshman of the Year. He coached 17 ACC All-Academic selections, 15 ITA scholar athletes and a pair of ITA Regional Arthur Ashe, Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship recipients.
 
"We had a tremendous applicant pool for this position and Maciek stood out among the best," Elon Director of Athletics Jenn Strawley said. "He has played at the highest level and has had tremendous success as a coach in every step of his journey, including helping to lead Duke to the Sweet 16 this year. Equally important, Maciek is a tremendous person who shares Elon's values and I know he will develop the young men in our tennis program both on and off the court. I am genuinely excited to welcome Maciek, his wife Erica and their two boys Aleksander and Julian to the Elon family."
 
Under Sykut's tutelage, Duke won 22 matches during the 2022-23 season, the program's first 20-win campaign since 2014-15. The Blue Devils repeated that achievement with 20 wins this spring and a trip to the NCAA Super Regional after defeating UNC Asheville 4-0 and No. 20 Alabama 4-1 in the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Duke ranked No. 11 a year ago and entered the Super Regional at No. 13 this year.
 
The program set a single-season record with 11 ACC victories in 2024 and posted two victories over teams ranked in the top ten in the country, a 4-1 win over then-No. 5 USC and a 4-1 win over then-No. 7 Wake Forest. Despite a loss to No. 4 TCU in the Super Regional, the Blue Devils will send representatives to the 2024 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship.
 
Prior to his time at Duke, Sykut helped build a successful program at the University of Arizona, beginning as an assistant coach in 2018 before he was promoted to associate head coach in the summer of 2019. In 2019, Sykut guided the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010, as they cracked the top 30 in the ITA team rankings and tied the school record for most victories in a single season.
 
At Arizona, Sykut coached three Pac-12 All-Conference selections, six Pac-12 All-Academic honorees, an NCAA singles qualifier and an ITA Southwest Rookie of the Year.
 
Sykut began his college coaching career at North Carolina State University, where he worked two stints. He served as a volunteer assistant coach with the program from 2012-14 before returning as an assistant coach for the 2016-17 season. In his three years at N.C. State, he coached five All-ACC selections and helped the program to two consecutive NCAA appearances.
 
Sykut enjoyed a professional playing career prior to coaching. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 578 and climbed to No. 145 in doubles. During his career, he won 13 ITF Pro Circuit doubles events and a pair of ATP Challenger doubles titles. He won 22 matches against ATP top 100 ranked doubles players.
 
Collegiately, Sykut was a decorated player at Florida State University, as he won 93 singles and 82 doubles matches from 2005-09, the second and fifth most all-time in program history, respectively. The combined 175 victories are the third most at Florida State. He was an All-ACC selection in 2009 and served as a team captain that season.
 
Sykut graduated from Florida State in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He and his wife Erica have two children, Aleksander and Julian.