BATON ROUGE, La. – Daniil Ostapenkov is set to sign with the LSU Men’s Tennis team, head coach Danny Bryan announced on Monday. The Belarus native will join the squad as a freshman in the fall of 2026.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Daniil to LSU,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “He is a player we have followed closely, and what stood out throughout the recruiting process was not only his level as a tennis player, but also the type of person he is. I think he will fit in very well with our guys. Daniil has already competed at a high level internationally, and we believe his game and mindset will translate very well to college tennis and the SEC.”
During his junior career, Ostapenkov was ranked No. 48 in the world in the ITF Junior Under-18s. Now, the 23-year-old holds a 13.74 UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) in singles and a 13.23 in doubles. At this moment in the ATP singles rankings, Ostapenkov lands at a career-high of No. 541 in the world. As for doubles, he claims a top ranking of No. 261 while currently standing at No. 276.
In addition to winning a challenger event in 2025, Ostapenkov has won nine ITF doubles titles during his career, with his most recent coming in May of 2026. Notably, four of his victories came alongside fellow Belarusian and now fellow Tiger, Erik Arutiunian, spanning from 2022 to 2025. The duo is a three-time champion of the M15 Sharm El-Sheikh and one-time champion of the M25 Monastir. (M15 champions earn 15 ATP points, while M25 champions earn 25.)
“Daniil and Erik are very close,” added Bryan. “Having Erik already here had a major impact on Daniil’s decision.”
Coming in with previous ties to members of the team, Ostapenkov looks to continue his success as he suits up for the purple and gold.
For the latest updates, follow @LSUTennis on Instagram, Facebook, and X.