DURHAM, N.C. – Duke men's and women's tennis hosted the annual Royal Blue Club Pro Am on Sunday as members of the Royal Blue Club received the opportunity to square off against Blue Devil players.
This winter marked the 17th year of the event. In total Sunday, 55 of the Royal Blue Club members, the biggest fans and supporters of Blue Devil tennis, participated in the event at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
"Yet again, our Royal Blue Pro Am delivered with a massive success," men's tennis head coach Ramsey Smith said. "It's so important for our men's and women's teams to connect and engage with our biggest supporters and fans. It has been such a privilege to watch this event continue and grow. Thanks again to Larry Herst for his organization and to all our Royal Blue members."
The Royal Blue Club is a fan club for the men's and women's tennis programs. Benefits of joining include food and beverages at home matches, match day promotions, discounted priority court time at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center, participation in the Pro Am and a free Duke Tennis t-shirt.
"Thank you to Larry Herst and to our Royal Blue members who came out this Sunday morning to spend some time with our teams," women's tennis head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "For us, this is always a highlight to our year as it means matches in front of the best fans in the country are right around the corner. We have worked hard to have both Ambler Stadium and Sheffield Indoor provide a significant home court advantage for us and playing on front of our Royal Blue members has definitely given us that edge."
The men's program kicks off its dual match season Friday at 5 p.m. when it hosts Elon inside the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The women's team begins its season on Monday, January 19 by hosting Iowa (9:30 a.m.) and NC Central (5 p.m.).
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Women’s Tennis Tabbed No. 8 in ITA Preseason Ledger 1/7/2026 12:08:00 PM | Women's Tennis
1/7/2026 12:08:00 PM | Women's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C. – As Jamie Ashworth enters his 30th season as the head coach of the Duke women's tennis team, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released its preseason national rankings Wednesday with Duke tabbed No. 8.
Ashworth has guided Duke to 21 top-10 preseason rankings in his 30 seasons as the head coach of the Blue Devils. Duke has been in the preseason top-16 nationally in each of the last 30 years under Ashworth.
Georgia enters the season ranked No. 1 nationally with Texas A&M, North Carolina, Auburn, LSU, Oklahoma, Michigan, Duke, Stanford and Oklahoma State rounding out the top 10. A total of six ACC teams were ranked nationally – North Carolina (3), Duke (8), Stanford (9), NC State (11), Virginia (14) and California (15).
Duke features four ranked singles players entering the season -- Irinia Balus (#22), Eleana Yu (#87), Shavit Kimchi (#93) and Liv Hovde (#98) – and three ranked doubles teams -- Kimchi/Hovde (#14), Hovde/Balus (#22) and Yu/Claire An (#32).
The Blue Devils return six student-athletes off their 2024-25 squad that advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament and won the ACC regular season title. Duke also welcomed freshman Aspen Schuman to the team in January along with An arriving in August.
Duke opens 2026 dual match action Monday, Jan. 19 as the Blue Devils host a doubleheader with Iowa and NCCU. The Iowa match will feature a first serve at 9:30 a.m., while the NCCU contest will start at 5 p.m. Both contests will be played in the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.