ELON – The Elon men's tennis team returns to action Friday for its first road test of the spring season at No. 17 Duke. The teams will meet at 5 p.m. at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in Durham.
Elon at Duke Briefing
Match Details: Jan. 16, 2026 | Durham, N.C. | Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center | 5 p.m.
Admission: Free
The Matchup
- Friday marks the 13th meeting between the Phoenix and Blue Devils, with all 12 previous matchups played at Duke. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 11-1.
- Elon's lone win in the series came in the 2014 season opener, when the Phoenix defeated No. 7 Duke, 4-3.
- Elon head coach Maciek Sykut served on Duke's men's tennis staff from 2020-24. During his tenure with the Blue Devils, Duke won 71 dual matches and made four NCAA Tournament appearances. This will be his first match against Duke as Elon's head coach.
Last Time Out
- Elon won its season opener Saturday against Saint Joseph's, defeating the Hawks on neutral courts at the Wake Forest Tennis Center, 6-1.
- After losing the first doubles match to finish on Court 3, the Phoenix clinched the doubles point with wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots.
- Jack Curtis and Rafael Ymer teamed up for Elon's first doubles win of the season, dispatching Dami Abdusamadov and Santiago Valle on Court 2, 6-3. The match was tied at 3-3 before the Elon duo earned the first break of the contest to go ahead, 4-3. They held serve after the ensuing changeover before breaking again to close out the victory.
- In the final match to finish, Nikola Parichkov and Veljko Krstic secured the doubles point for Elon with a 6-4 triumph against Othman Bezzaz and Ernesto Ruy, the No. 70 duo in the current ITA doubles rankings, at the No. 1 spot. The Elon duo broke serve at 4-4 before serving out the match in the next game.
- Freshman Nick Fisk made his dual debut with the Phoenix, pairing with Charles Pilet at No. 3 doubles.
- Parichkov wasted little time putting the Phoenix ahead 2-0 as the sophomore raced to a 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles against Davi Carlos. It was Parichkov's first dual singles win for Elon in his spring debut with the team.
- Oskar Antinheimo put Elon on the doorstep of victory with a convincing straight-set win of his own on Court 6. The senior defeated Jakob Gaudreau Barnes 6-1, 6-2 in his first appearance at No. 6 singles since 2022, as he improved to 4-0 in his career at that spot in the lineup.
- Pilet secured the winning point for the Phoenix, coming through a tight 7-6 (2), 6-3 decision versus Abdusamadov at the No. 5 spot to move Elon ahead 4-0. It was his seventh career dual singles win, six of which have come at the No. 5 position.
- Krstic, ranked No. 91 in the current ITA singles rankings, battled through a three-setter on Court 1 against Bezzaz, winning 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 for his 39th career dual singles win. It was the senior's seventh dual singles win in a full third set.
- Ymer wrapped up the contest by coming through a match tiebreak on Court 2 against Santiago Valle. The sophomore dropped the opening frame in a tiebreak but fought back for a 6-7 (2), 7-5, 10-8 victory. It was his third career dual win in a match tiebreaker.
- The win was Elon's first in a season opener since 2018, snapping a streak of seven straight losses in opening matches.
About The Phoenix
- Elon is coming off an 11-8 season last spring, which included a fourth straight trip to the CAA championship match.
- The Phoenix went 4-1 against CAA opponents last spring, with the lone loss coming to top-seeded UNCW in the title match.
- Veljko Krstic earned All-CAA honors in both singles and doubles a season ago. He went 10-6 playing the No. 1 position for the Phoenix and added seven doubles victories.
- Rafael Ymer and Jack Curtis also picked up All-CAA recognition in both singles and doubles. Ymer led the Phoenix as a freshman with 11 singles victories and tied for a team-best 10 doubles wins. Curtis also reached double figures in both singles (10) and doubles (10) victories.
- Oskar Antinheimo rounded out Elon's postseason honorees, landing on the All-CAA Second Team in doubles. Antinheimo won seven matches alongside Krstic at the No. 1 spot and added six singles triumphs.
- Elon returns three more players from last season – Luke Forester, Charles Pilet and Alonso Roca. Pilet delivered 10 victories as a freshman across singles and doubles, while Roca notched a pair of singles wins in the spring.
- The Phoenix welcomes two newcomers in 2025-26. Nick Fisk joins Elon as a freshman, while sophomore Nikola Parichkov comes to Elon after being a part of Wake Forest's national championship team last spring.
- Maciek Sykut is in his second year at the helm of the Phoenix.
Fall Recap
- The Phoenix racked up 64 victories in the fall, with 48 in singles and 16 in doubles.
- Krstic and Parichkov represented the CAA at ITA Conference Masters in San Diego in November. Krstic won a pair of singles matches to make the quarterfinals while the doubles duo picked up a consolation victory.
- The Phoenix competed in the Wake Forest Invite from Oct. 31-Nov. 2, with Parichkov and Pilet winning the B2 doubles flight. In total, Elon collected 13 wins at the event.
- Elon picked up 11 victories across singles and doubles at ITA Regionals, which were held at Cary Tennis Park from Oct. 16-19. Krstic made a run to the semifinals in singles, ultimately placing third in the event. Parichkov also qualified for the main singles draw at Regionals to join Krstic.
- Prior to Regionals, Elon competed at the Liberty Dual from Sept. 26-28, tallying 17 victories across singles (14) and doubles (3).
- Krstic paced the Phoenix with a 3-0 singles record at Liberty and went 2-1 in doubles with Parichkov. Curtis, Ymer, Pilet and Roca also notched multiple singles wins in Lynchburg.
- Fisk and Parichkov competed at the Porter's Neck Invitational hosted by UNCW on Sept. 19-21, winning the B doubles flight. It was Parichkov's debut tournament with the Phoenix.
- Elon opened its fall campaign by hosting the Elon Invitational at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center from Sept. 12-14. The Phoenix posted 18 wins across singles (15) and doubles (3) during its home event.
- Antinheimo finished Elon's home tournament with a team-high five victories in doubles and singles. He won a pair of doubles contests with partner Krstic to go along with his three singles triumphs. Curtis also won three singles matches at Elon's home event, winning his final three outings
Regionals Run
- Krstic made a historic run at ITA Carolina Regionals in October, placing third in the main singles draw.
- The senior advanced to the semifinals in the event, becoming the first Elon player to make the final four in singles at Regionals since Cameron Silverman in 2013.
- Krstic delivered four victories to reach the semifinals, defeating players from North Carolina, Charlotte, Clemson and South Carolina along the way.
- In his semifinal against Wake Forest's Luca Pow, Krstic won the second set, 6-2, after dropping the opener in a tiebreak. He pushed Pow to the end, ultimately falling 4-6 in the deciding frame.
- Krstic checked in at No. 91 in the final fall ITA singles rankings on Nov. 25, the only CAA player to appear in the rankings. He is the first Elon player to be ranked in singles since Kyle Frankel was No. 125 on March 30, 2021.
- Krstic finished the fall with a team-best 10 singles victories. He also had six doubles wins.
- Krstic has 39 career dual singles victories. An All-CAA First Team honoree in singles a season ago, Krstic has posted double-digit singles wins in all three seasons with the Phoenix.
Back In Maroon And Gold
- Joining Krstic as a senior this year is Antinheimo, who has a combined 68 dual victories (36 in singles, 32 in doubles) in four years with the Phoenix. Antinheimo has been an All-CAA Second Team selection in both singles (2024) and doubles (2025) during his Elon career.
- Curtis is entering his third spring campaign with Elon after earning All-CAA recognition in both singles and doubles as a sophomore. He tallied 10 wins in both singles and doubles a season ago, which included a perfect 2-0 mark in singles in the CAA Tournament.
- Sophomores Pilet and Ymer both return after productive freshman seasons. Ymer led the Phoenix with 11 singles wins and tied with Curtis for a team-best 10 doubles victories, with Pilet notching 10 total wins across singles and doubles.
- Roca and Forester also return for the Phoenix this spring. Roca went 4-2 in singles this fall, while Forester earned his first Elon win this fall at the Wake Forest Invite.
Four In A Row
- Elon has advanced to four straight CAA championship matches, a streak that began in 2022.
- Last season, the Phoenix hosted the event at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and defeated Monmouth in the semifinals to reach the final against top-seeded UNCW.
- The Phoenix and Seahawks have met in each of the last four conference title matches, with UNCW winning all four.
- In the last four CAA Tournaments, Elon is 7-0 in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. The Phoenix's last loss prior to the championship match came in 2021.
Scouting Duke
- Duke is coming off a 19-9 spring campaign in 2025, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship. The Blue Devils defeated Middle Tennessee in the opening round before falling to No. 14 Tennessee.
- Duke senior Pedro Rodenas and junior Cooper Williams were ranked No. 13 and No. 24, respectively, in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles poll.
- Pedro Rodenas is Duke's top returning player after recording 14 singles wins during his junior season, split evenly between the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. He closed the 2025 season ranked No. 29 nationally in singles, leading the team with nine ranked wins while posting a 19-9 overall record and a 14-6 mark in dual matches.
- Cooper Williams returns after a sophomore campaign that featured nine singles victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. He also accounted for a team-high 19 doubles wins, including nine at the No. 1 spot, and finished last season ranked No. 3 nationally in doubles and No. 53 in singles, tallying seven ranked singles victories.
- The Blue Devils found much of their success at the No. 2 spot last spring, posting winning percentages above .750 in both singles and doubles. Duke finished the season 49-17 in doubles play.
- Duke is led by Ramsey Smith, who is in his 18th season as head coach.
Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon men's tennis, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonMTennis), Instagram (elonmtennis) and Facebook (Elon Men's Tennis).
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