Woodruff Comments About 2026-27 Signing Class

Tennessee Men's Tennis Head Coach Chris Woodruff and his staff were able to reel in a top-20 freshman signing class and one of the top portal groups ahead of the 2026-27 season. Woodruff shared his thoughts on the overall class and each of the newcomers.

After a non-standard year for the program, Woodruff, associate head coach Matt Lucas and assistant Jaime Barajas have worked diligently to retool their roster, signing six players expected to strengthen the program. The class includes top junior players from around the world and talented additions from within the Southeastern Conference. The list of newcomers features three freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors.

"I think we did a really good job," Woodruff said about his staff's work in recruiting. "I'm particularly excited about this class, because I believe it can be transformational in taking Tennessee back to where it belongs, but also in terms of trying to elevate the bar and get our program into areas that it's never been before."

"We obviously have proven winners. We have guys who have played professionally with success and competed as pros this summer successfully. It's a very worldly group."

The freshman class, which was ranked No. 18 in the country by the Tennis Recruiting Network, included highly-ranked juniors as well as Junior Davis Cup title holders and five-star recruits. The transfers all come from SEC teams that made it to the super regionals or further last year, including a two-time all-conference honoree in former Oklahoma standout Oscar Lacides.

"I think the biggest theme to this recruiting class is we tried to bring in people that love tennis," Woodruff added. "People who are good and care about the program, care about themselves and are good teammates."

The Big Orange's incoming players are listed below alphabetically with Woodruff's comments on each.

ADRIEN ABARCA (Fr., Chula Vista, Calif.)
"Adrian Abarca was a very unique pick-up for us, being from California. He is a player who is improving coming into college. I think he'll bring a youthful exuberance that the program is going to need."

ALAN BOJARSKI (So., Warsaw, Poland/Auburn)
"Alan Bojarski oozes tennis. He's a hard worker who loves to play, loves to lift and loves to compete. His greatest asset is that he's going to be a worker, and he's going to fit our system of loving to play tennis."

MARTIN DOSKOCIL (Fr., Czechia)
"Martin Doskocil is the left-handed player that we needed. He's a 6-5 lefty who we expect to come in and leave his mark on the doubles court immediately as a solid performer. He has Junior Davis Cup experience, which translates very well to college tennis."

DANIEL JOVANOVSKI (Fr., Melbourne, Australia)
"One of the things that was evident about Daniel Jovanovski is that he really wants to stay loyal to a program. We get a multifaceted player in doubles who checks the box. He has an opportunity to come in and make an impact immediately with his talent."

OREL KIMHI (Jr., Jerusalem, Israel/Oklahoma)
"Orel Kimhi loves tennis and is a hard worker. He's another strong doubles player with good results to back it up. He fits the mold of what we wanted to bring to Tennessee for this class."

OSCAR LACIDES (Jr., Paris, France/Oklahoma)
"Oscar Lacides was so excited to come to Tennessee. He's a great player, very solid in our conference. We expect him to come in and help in doubles right away as he did at OU. He has great power, which compliments the aggressive way he plays tennis."