Gianluca Ballotta gripped his ankle and writhed in pain on the heat-charged asphalt.
The wounded senior was unable to place any weight on his leg.
But Ballotta returned to the court just a few minutes later, using his racket as both a cane and a sword.
His mobility was impaired and assistant coach Wil Martin repositioned him along the court between points.
His attack ability was also limited, with redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels traversing the length of the court to cover for his doubles partner.
But Ballotta’s will to remain on the court never subsided.
No. 24 UCLA men’s tennis (11-3, 5-0 Big Ten) extended its win streak to six this weekend after defeating Wisconsin (11-5, 2-4) 6-1 on Friday and Nebraska (9-8, 1-5) 6-0 on Sunday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The weekend opened with a display of tenacity from Ballotta, who finished doubles play against Wisconsin despite an ankle injury that left him in a boot post match.
“It really was incredible,” said coach Billy Martin. “I didn’t want him to do it unless he really wanted to, and he did. Give credit to Emon, too, for covering 99% of the court. But it was a gutsy effort – there’s no doubt about it.”
While Ballotta and van Loben Sels extended their doubles record to 8-1, the pair’s winning effort was not enough to secure the Bruins’ doubles point.
But the moment served as a catalyst that inspired the group’s response, said No. 119 sophomore Rudy Quan.
Redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels prepares to serve the ball. Van Loben Sels picked up a pair of singles victories over the weekend. (Karla Cardenas-Felipe/Daily Bruin staff)
“He (Ballotta) probably shouldn’t have played on it, but he chose to play because that’s how bad he wants to help us succeed,” Quan said. “It just helped motivate us in a sense that, ‘He’s willing to put his body on the line, so why not we do the same?’”
Quan completed an undefeated weekend on the singles front, defeating Wisconsin’s Patrik Meszaros with a 10-point tiebreaker and final scoreline of 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10) on Friday before trouncing Nebraska’s No. 81 Nikolay Sysoev 6-2, 6-1 on Sunday.
It marked the latest pair of winning efforts in a series of successful singles matches from the sophomore, who has won nine of his last 10 outings. Quan said his Friday play was subpar whereas his Sunday performance reflected his brand of tennis.
“Today (Sunday) was a new day for me,” Quan said. “No need to try and make major adjustments. Playing with confidence ultimately helped me throughout the whole match today.”
No. 33 van Loben Sels swept the weekend as well, defeating Badger Ferdinand Kloesters 6-3, 6-2 and Cornhusker Jeri Lassila 7-6 (5), 6-3. The 2025 Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player is riding an eight-match singles win streak this season and is undefeated in dual-match conference play.
Despite his success, van Loben Sels said his focus last weekend was to refine his craft.
“I’ve been making some technical changes on my forehand, my serve, my backhand, too,” van Loben Sels said. “The season’s long, and I just have to keep improving and keep chipping away at new things that I can work on so that I’m good to go for the summer.”
A line down from van Loben Sels, junior Andy Nguyen pushed his win streak to four this weekend, defeating both Wisconsin’s Edouard Aubert and Nebraska’s Niels Van Der Sijs in straight sets.
Nguyen’s recent efforts mark his longest series of consecutive wins since transferring from UC Irvine last summer.
“I am seeing exactly what I expected to see from Andy Nguyen,” Billy Martin said. “He’s a very dangerous player, and he’s finally starting to play like Andy Nguyen and not being nervous about being here. … He’s calming down, relaxing and playing within himself now.”