The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (“ITA”) has released today the Division I Women’s Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll for January 7, 2026. As the first Division I Team Ranking of the year, the past seven ITA Preseason No. 1 ranked teams have included, Georgia (2025), North Carolina (2021, 2024), Texas (2022, 2023), and Stanford (2019, 2020).
For the second straight season, Georgia will start the season and the No. 1 ranked team in the country. The defending NCAA and ITA National Team Indoor Champions went 29-3 last season and ended their season on a nine match win streak, including wins over Texas A&M, North Carolina, and Duke who all start 2026 in the Top Ten of the ITA Preseason Poll.
With players such as Dasha Vidmanova, Guillermina Grant, and Mell Reasco all graduating after standout collegiate careers, the Bulldogs bring a mix of experienced returners with standout newcomers into the spring. Newcomers such as Anastasiia Gureva (12.64 WTN), Patricija Paukstyte (14.44 WTN), Emma Dong (15.68 WTN), and Deniz Dilek (13.77 WTN) will all look to fill the void of Vidmanova, Grant, and Reasco this year, with several already showcasing their talent this past fall.
Rounding out the Top Five of the Jan. 7 ITA Preseason Rankings are Texas A&M (No. 2), North Carolina (No. 3), Auburn (No. 4), and LSU (No. 5). With a heavy SEC presence in the Top Ten, five of the top six teams in the Jan. 7 Poll come from the SEC with Oklahoma coming in at No. 6 in the Rankings.
The ITA Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by the ITA National Ranking Committee. The National Ranking Committee is made up of the 13 ITA Region Chairs, with each chair casting an individual, secret ballot.
ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings
National Team Rankings
Top 25 Team Rankings
January 7, 2026
RankTeam (First Place Votes)
1Georgia (7)
2Texas A&M
3North Carolina
4Auburn
5LSU
6Oklahoma
7Michigan
8Duke
9Stanford
10Oklahoma State
11NC State
12Texas
13Ohio State
14Virginia
15California
16Tennessee
17UCLA
18Vanderbilt
19USC
20Texas Tech
21Pepperdine
22Washington
23Florida
24UCF
25Baylor
Received Votes (Alphabetical): Clemson, Notre Dame, Wisconsin
– Advertisement –