Chambana Sun

The Illinois women's tennis program has been chosen to host the 2025 and 2026 ITA Division I Women's National Team Indoor Championships. This announcement was made by the organization on Thursday. The event will be co-hosted by Illinois and Northwestern, with both teams receiving wild cards to participate.

Evan Clark, head coach of the Fighting Illini women's tennis team, expressed enthusiasm about hosting the championships. "We are thrilled to be selected to host the ITA National Women's Indoor Championships in Champaign in 2025 and 2026," he said. Clark also extended gratitude towards Dave Mullins, Cory Brooks, and the entire ITA staff for providing this opportunity. He added that they are confident in their ability to provide a great experience for student-athletes and coaches.

The championships will feature a new regional hosting format, where play is divided between two host schools within 200 miles of each other. This aims to enhance both the viewing experience for attendees and broadcast production quality throughout the event.

Illinois and Northwestern will each welcome seven additional teams at their campus sites. They will host the first two rounds of play before moving semifinalists from Illinois to Northwestern for further matches. During these years, Northwestern is designated as the final site for semifinals and finals.

Additionally, changes include reducing ITA Kickoff Weekend from 15 sites (60 teams) to 14 sites (56 teams) due to this new format. On the men's side, SMU and Baylor have been selected as co-hosts for their respective events in 2025 and 2026.

Illinois previously hosted major tennis events like the NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships in 2013 and again in 2022. More information about future championships will be shared later.