JONESBORO, Ark. (9/17/26) – Coming off a UTR NIT Championship, the Arkansas State women’s tennis team begins its 2026-27 season this weekend.

For the first time in program history, A-State will be represented at the ITA All-American Championships with fifth year Anna Grigoreva earning a spot in a pre-qualifier match Saturday, Sept. 19, in Cary, N.C. The Red Wolves will also compete at the Memphis Invite Sept. 18-20.

“We are excited to get the season officially underway this weekend,” head coach Sujay Lama said. “We are looking forward to evaluating our level and especially seeing our two freshmen compete. We are very happy for Anna to make it the All-American Championship and break another barrier for the program.  She has sacrificed a lot and put in the work and is most deserving. She is capable of having a great tournament.”

One of the most storied championships on the college tennis calendar, the 2026 ITA All-American Championships begin Saturday at the Cary Tennis Park. A total of ten women’s singles players will qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship (eight main draw quarter-finalists & two feed-in consolation finalists) through the All-American Championship. Pre-qualifying features 160 singles players on Saturday battling to advance to the qualifying rounds Sept. 21-22 and the main draw Sept. 23-27.

At the Memphis Invite, the Red Wolves are set to face Murray State, Memphis and Middle Tennessee over the three-day event. A-State will meet Murray State on Friday, Memphis on Saturday and Middle Tennessee on Sunday. Doubles will be played first each day beginning at 9:00 a.m. with singles matches scheduled for 10:00 a.m.

A-State capped off an historic 2025-26 season with its first Division I postseason appearance and a championship at the UTR Sports NIT. The Red Wolves concluded the 2026 campaign with a 16-9 record, the program’s best finish since posting a 16-8 mark in 2002.

The Red Wolves return six of seven players from the 2025-26 roster that boasted the best national ranking in program history at No. 86 in the final ITA rankings. A-State was ranked No. 9 in the final ITA Central Region list last season, the first top-10 regional ranking in program history.
 
According to TennisRecruiting.net, A-State’s incoming recruiting class of Sara Kastakova and Lara Margocova ranks highest in the Sun Belt Conference and No. 4 among mid-majors.
Links to follow live scoring and watch matches will be available at AStateRedWolves.com and clicking on the women’s tennis schedule page.