No. 12 UCLA men’s tennis is just days away from its first serve of 2026. Fresh off a Big Ten title and an NCAA tournament quarterfinals berth in 2025, the Bruins seem poised to make another deep run this season. As the players prepare for opening day, Daily Bruin reporter Badri Viswanathan examines the Bruins’ roster entering the 2026 season.

2025 record: 19-9 (11-2 Big Ten), Big Ten Champions

Coach: Billy Martin

Outgoing players

The departed duo began its journey on the beach.

After losing five consecutive doubles points in early 2025, coach Billy Martin experimented with new lineups at the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship in La Jolla last March. One of those duos, then-seniors Alexander Hoogmartens and Giacomo Revelli, won six consecutive matches en route to a title at the weekend tournament. Martin stuck with Revelli and Hoogmartens, a move that helped anchor the Bruins’ run to six postseason wins.

With the graduations of Revelli and Hoogmartens, Martin now must replace a formidable doubles pairing.

“I don’t know if you can, quite honestly,” Martin said. “They did a fantastic job for us. There’s no doubt about it.”

Hoogmartens earned ITA All-American and All-Pac-12 honors, compiling a 55-26 singles record and a 50-26 doubles record, while Revelli earned a second-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2023.

A freshman standout has joined the now-graduated pair.

Would-be sophomore Kaylan Bigun left Westwood to pursue a professional tennis career. The 2025 Big Ten All-Freshman selection blossomed into the No. 3 player in the Bruins’ singles lineup last season, amassing a 13-7 singles record. Since his departure, Bigun has made his mark on the professional stage, earning a No. 690 ATP singles ranking in August.

“They (Bigun and his family) were always very honest with me as far as letting me know that it could be just one or two years,” Martin said on Bigun’s departure. “So it certainly didn’t catch me off guard.”

The transfer

UCLA added 2024-25 All-Big West honoree and junior Andy Nguyen to help fill the vacancies.

The 2024 Big West Freshman of the Year is one of three Bruins with conference freshman of the year accolades, joining sophomore Rudy Quan and junior Spencer Johnson. Nguyen amassed a 38-10 singles record and a 27-22 doubles record, earning two All-Big West selections on both sides of the doubles alley in his two seasons at UC Irvine.

The freshmen

Past freshmen like Johnson, Quan and Bigun have been central to the Bruins’ success across the last two years.

And Bengt Reinhard could be next in the lineage of freshman standouts.

“Our new German, Bengt Reinhard, played a lot of matches,” Martin said after the ITA Southwest Regionals in October, where Reinhard won two matches. “(I) really got to see him in tough competition.”

Reinhard has won multiple junior tournaments in Europe, including the ITF J60 Frankfurt singles title in 2024.

The returners

The Bruins retained a formidable returning cast headlined by two All-Americans.

Quan, Johnson, redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels and senior Aadarsh Tripathi share postseason experience from 2025, playing in UCLA’s Big Ten title victory against No. 1 Ohio State and in its NCAA quarterfinals loss to No. 3 Texas.

Senior Gianluca Ballotta, who found himself in and out of the singles lineup in 2025, may carve out a larger role given the three Bruin departures. Ballotta offers experience and strong doubles play, boasting a 15-9 doubles record in 2025.

The Bruins also have a trio of returning youngsters.

Redshirt freshman Cassius Chinlund, along with sophomores Andrei Crabel and Leo von Bismarck have yet to appear in a dual match throughout their collegiate careers. But after a year of development under Martin’s tutelage, that may change.

Last season was a return to former glory for UCLA, clinching its first conference tournament title and national quarterfinals berth in seven years.

Martin’s roster has retooled around its All-American core and may reach new heights in the new year.