LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Vanderbilt men’s tennis redshirt freshman Roh Hoyoung delivered a 6-1, 6-4 win over Nicolas Ian Kotzen in the singles final at the ITF M25 Louisville to capture the first pro title of his budding career.
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Hoyoung, the highest-rated recruit in program history with a No. 10 ITF junior world ranking, joined the team last January as an academic redshirt out of IMG Academy. He will be eligible to compete with the team beginning January 2026. The Gwangmyeong, South Korea native reached as high as a 13.30 UTR and captured multiple junior tournament wins: singles and doubles at the J300 Wanju, singles at J500 Osaka and J300 Porto Alegre, and doubles at J300 Beijing, J300 Charleroi-Marcinelle, J300 Porto Alegre and J300 Asuncion.
He began his tournament journey at Louisville in the main draw, featuring 32 total players. Hoyoung downed Sekou Bangoura 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 on Wednesday in the opening match of singles play. In the second round, Hoyoung defeated Frenchman Fabien Salle 7-6 (3), 7-6 (1) to advance. He continued onto the semifinals after fending off the No. 3 seed Aiden Mchugh 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-1. Hoyoung notched his fourth straight victory against Matthew Thomson in another three-set thriller, completing a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback over the American on Saturday. Sunday’s singles final had no need for three sets; Hoyoung produced a swift 6-1, 6-4 win against Kotzen to finalize the tournament victory.
Hoyoung gives a glimpse of what is to come for the Dores in the 2025-2026 season, who generated their first No. 1 recruiting class in team history in the final Tennis Recruiting Network rankings. Fellow incoming freshman Jack Satterfield has also made some noise at summer tournaments, competing in the main draw at events such as the Junior French Open at Rolland Garros and the Wimbledon Junior Championships.
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ITF M25 Louisville, Ky.
Singles
Round 1: Roh Hoyoung def. Sekou Bangoura 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
Round 2: Roh Hoyoung def. Fabien Salle 7-6 (3), 7-6 (1)
Quarterfinals: Roh Hoyoung def. No. 3 Aiden Mchugh 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-1
Semifinals: Roh Hoyoung def. Matthew Thomson 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Final: Roh Hoyoung def. Nicolas Ian Kotzen 6-1, 6-4
