Over the years, there have been several tennis siblings who have graced the court and have made a mark on the sport.
As part of the 'tennis family' narrative, be it the William sisters or the Bryan brothers, there are a range of sibling duos who are or have been a part of the tennis circuit at the same point or one point or another in their lives.
This culture of tennis siblings also finds itself a place in the current tennis atmosphere wherein the academic route has been up and coming, and several tennis players have siblings pursuing collegiate tennis before joining their brothers/sisters in the international tennis arena.
With that said, here are a few tennis players who currently have siblings and cousins pursuing collegiate tennis:
#5 Brandon Nakashima
Current World No. 88 Brandon Nakashima attended the University of Virginia, for whom he played tennis before turning pro.
Nakashima's brother Bryce is also pursuing collegiate tennis and is currently enrolled in Ohio State. He is currently ranked 1573 in singles and 653 in doubles.
Speaking about his brother and his decision to pursue collegiate tennis, Brandon Nakashima said (Via Tennis.com):
“He has grown into a pretty independent person, I would say. When he was deciding his college route and his decision, I didn't really want to get in the way too much and just let him figure out on his own. I told him if he had any questions or wanted to know anything, I would be 100% open to helping him. "
"He handled it all on his own and was finding his own path out there. So I'm super proud of him. He's been working hard the past couple years and practicing a lot," he added.
#4 Casper Ruud
Current World No. 8 Casper Ruud comes from a tennis background. His father and coach Christian, played professionally and was Norway's very first tennis player to be in the Top 100 of the ATP rankings.
Casper Ruud's 17-year-old sister Charlotte has also taken to tennis and joined Rafael Nadal's academy in Mallorca in 2023.
The teenager is currently ranked 1405 in the ITF Junior singles rankings. She most recently competed at an ITF tournament in Manacor and reached the second round before losing to Switzerland's Jenny Duerst.
#3 Gael Monfils
French tennis player Gael Monfils has held a career-high ranking of World No.6 and a combined World No.1 rank as part of his junior career. In addition to securing 12 ATP singles titles, Monfils is one of the four players of the Open Era to reach at least one ATP singles finals for 19 seasons consecutively, a streak that started in 2005.
Monfils' 19-year-old sister, Maelie, currently pursues collegiate tennis and recently joined the Florida State University (FSU) to follow her brother's footsteps.
While Maelie recently took the collegiate route to pursue tennis, she began playing the sport when she was three and attended the IMG Academy (previously known as the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy) in Florida before joining FSU.
Maelie Monfils wn 12 matches across both singles and doubles in 2023 while also winning a doubles event in Tampa.
#2 Leylah Fernandez
Canadian tennis player Leylah Fernandez made quite a name for hersle when she reached the US Open final in 2021 as a teenager while being unseeded.
The 21-year-old's younger sister Bianca is also a tennis player and joined the collegiate ranks with UCLA in January in addition to which,she has held a career-high ITF junior rankings of No.6 and a WTA singles ranking of No.6.
The sibling duo teamed up for the doubles event at the 2022 Monterrey Open where they lost in the first round.
Recently, Bianca won her first Pac-12 Women's Tennis Player of the Week Award wherein she won all of her six matches across singles and doubles.
Including the aforementioned victory, Leylah Fernandez often takes to social media to laud her sister's achievements. Earlier this year, when Bianca helped her college team beat the Loyola Marymount University's team, her sister shared an Instagram story cheering for her and said:
"Good win for UCLA! And Bianca won!! Don't mind me, proud sister here."
#1. Peyton Stearns
Former NCAA tennis champion Peyton Stearns has held a career-high ranking of World No. 43 in September last year and No. 89 in doubles achieved earlier this year.
Stearns played for the University of Texas, and her brother has taken the collegiate route as well, as he currently plays for Ohio State University
Peyton's brother, Preston Stearns is also a tennis player and seems to be following his sister's footsteps taking the collegiate route with Ohio State University.
Prior to joining the University, Preston was the top-ranked recruit from the state of Ohio and the the No.24 overall recruit in the class.
