Clemson Men’s Tennis Kicks Off Fall Season This Weekend

Clemson men’s tennis will get their 2026-27 season underway this weekend when they travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma for ITA All-American Championships.

Five Tigers will hit the courts at the start of the fall college season. While there are just these five players in the pre-qualifying draws, it’s likely that more will join later on in the event. Here’s everything you need to know before the tournament starts.

Singles

Four Clemson players can be found in the pre-qualifying singles draw, with three of them earning seeds.

Senior Marko Mesarovic earned the No. 16 seed and will begin play at 1:00 p.m. Saturday against Rice sophomore Rafael Botran. Mesaravic, a three-year singles starter, competed mainly at the No. 3 and No. 5 spots in the singles lineup last season. He’s looking to build off of an 18-win campaign by contributing to a Clemson squad that has serious national aspirations this season.

If Mesarovic wins his opening match, he’ll face the winner of NC State sophomore Ainius Sabaliauskas and Alabama graduate transfer Braden Hannig. Sabaliauskas is coming off a freshman year that saw him immediately contribute in the middle of the Wolfpack lineup, while Hannig earned all-conference honors at South Alabama last season. Either matchup would be a great test for Mesaravic.

One of Clemson’s major offseason moves was the addition of Texas A&M transfer Tiago Pires. Pires, a senior who played at No. 2 and No. 3 for the Aggies in singles, projects as another strong piece of the Tigers’ lineup in 2026-27.

As the No. 21 seed in singles, he’ll face Baylor sophomore Calvin Baierl in the first round, a former blue-chip recruit who was the No. 6 recruit in the high school class of 2025. If he’s victorious, a battle with NC State sophomore Darius Pop or Penn junior Callum Markowitz would await. Of note, Pop earned a straight-set win over Clemson’s Noah Cherubino during a 4-3 NC State win last season.

Cherubino also earned a No. 21 seed in the singles draw and will face Arizona State junior Niels Villard first. Cherubino competed mainly at No. 3 singles for Clemson last season, nabbing a critical victory in an ACC Tournament win over North Carolina. Oklahoma State’s Haydar Cem Gokpinar or UCLA’s Cassius Chinlund would be the junior’s second-round opponent.

Sophomore Henrik Bladelius rounds out the Clemson contingent in the singles draw. After a breakout freshman season in 2025-26, he looks to improve on a 23-win campaign. UCLA sophomore Bengt Reinhard is his first-round opponent, another player who’s looking to make a jump this season after helping the Bruins reach a 33rd NCAA Tournament under longtime coach Billy Martin.

Doubles

Clemson’s lone doubles pairing of the pre-qualifying is Pires and sophomore Matisse Farzam.

The pair will play together for the first time and take on Oklahoma State’s No. 2-seeded Gokpinar and Ian Bracks. A season ago, the Cowboy duo competed in two matches, earning a 6-2, 6-2 win over Texas Tech, with the other match going unfinished. Gokpinar earned 13 doubles wins in total, and clinched four straight matches for Oklahoma State at one point in the spring.

Head coach Brandon Wagner had high praise for Farzam’s potential heading into last season, and that potential was realized.

“Matisse is one of the top young American players coming into college tennis this year,” he said. “We are thrilled he chose Clemson. He has proven he can compete with the best juniors in the world and has the determination to keep pushing higher. His presence will have a big impact on our program right away.”

A 22-win campaign in singles and 18 doubles victories followed. In 2026-27, Farzam will look to continue his good form alongside newcomers like Pires, who makes his Clemson debut in both singles and doubles in this event.

MATCH SCHEDULE

Pre-Qualifying

Saturday, Sept. 19 - Singles 160, Doubles R32

9:00 a.m. CT – #21 Cherubino (Clemson) vs. Villard (Arizona State)

9:00 a.m. CT – Bladelius (Clemson) vs. Reinhard (UCLA)

12:00 p.m. CT – #21 Pires (Clemson) vs. Baierl (Baylor)

1:00 p.m. CT – #16 Mesarovic (Clemson) vs. Botran (Rice)

4:30 p.m. CT – Pires/Farzam (Clemson) vs. #2 Gokpinar/Bracks (Oklahoma State)

Sunday, Sept. 20 - Singles R80, Singles Cons. R80, Singles R40, Doubles R16, Doubles Cons. R16

Qualifying

Monday, Sept. 21 - Singles R64, Doubles R32

Tuesday, Sept. 22 - Singles R32, Singles Cons. R32, Doubles R16, Doubles Cons. R16

Main Draw

Wednesday, Sept. 23 - Singles R64, Doubles R32

Thursday, Sept. 24 - Singles R32, Singles Cons. R32a, Doubles R16, Doubles Cons. R16

Friday, Sept. 25 - Singles R16, Singles QF, Singles Cons. R32b, Singles Cons. R16a, Doubles QF, Doubles Cons. QF

Saturday, Sept. 26 - Singles Semifinals, Singles Cons. R16b, Singles Cons. QF, Doubles Semifinals, Doubles Cons. Semifinals

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