University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Emon van Loben Sels
Photo by: Aaron Fang
Emon van Loben Sels Named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week
April 01, 2026 | Men's Tennis
ROSEMONT, Ill. โ Emon van Loben Sels of the UCLA men's tennis team was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week Wednesday by the conference. He shares the honor with Michigan State's Aristotelis Thanos.
It was a flawless week individually for van Loben Sels, who went 4-0 across singles and doubles matches as the Bruins earned a split in Michigan. His most impressive showing came in a 6-2, 6-2 win against 11th-ranked Matthew Forbes of MSU on the second singles court. The victory marked van Loben Sels' career best in terms of opponent ranking. He accomplished the same feat in doubles that day, teaming with Spencer Johnson to take down No. 18 Taym Alazmeh/Danial Rakhmatullayev 6-4 on Court 1.
Two days earlier, van Loben Sels/Johnson bested Max Dahlin/Pierce Shaya 6-3 on Court 1 before the redshirt junior from Sacramento, Calif. beat Mert Oral 6-2, 6-4 on Court 3. In 2026, van Loben Sels holds an 11-1 singles record (18-5 overall) and a 12-2 doubles mark (19-4).
The award is van Loben Sels' second (also April 2, 2025). This is UCLA's third Big Ten men's tennis weekly selection of the season. Spencer Johnson was voted Player of the Week Oct. 22, 2025 following undefeated singles and doubles runs at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships that earned him NCAA berths. Cassius Chinlund was tabbed Freshman of the Week March 25 after clinching two home conference wins.
2025-26 BIG TEN MEN'S TENNIS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
It was a flawless week individually for van Loben Sels, who went 4-0 across singles and doubles matches as the Bruins earned a split in Michigan. His most impressive showing came in a 6-2, 6-2 win against 11th-ranked Matthew Forbes of MSU on the second singles court. The victory marked van Loben Sels' career best in terms of opponent ranking. He accomplished the same feat in doubles that day, teaming with Spencer Johnson to take down No. 18 Taym Alazmeh/Danial Rakhmatullayev 6-4 on Court 1.
Two days earlier, van Loben Sels/Johnson bested Max Dahlin/Pierce Shaya 6-3 on Court 1 before the redshirt junior from Sacramento, Calif. beat Mert Oral 6-2, 6-4 on Court 3. In 2026, van Loben Sels holds an 11-1 singles record (18-5 overall) and a 12-2 doubles mark (19-4).
The award is van Loben Sels' second (also April 2, 2025). This is UCLA's third Big Ten men's tennis weekly selection of the season. Spencer Johnson was voted Player of the Week Oct. 22, 2025 following undefeated singles and doubles runs at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships that earned him NCAA berths. Cassius Chinlund was tabbed Freshman of the Week March 25 after clinching two home conference wins.
2025-26 BIG TEN MEN'S TENNIS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
| Week | Player |
| Sept. 17 | Ozan Baris, MSU |
| Sept. 24 | Nikita Filin, OSU |
| Oct. 1 | Aidan Kim, OSU |
| Oct. 8 | Nicholas Steiglehner, MICH |
| Oct. 15 | Sam Landau, IND |
| Oct. 22 | Spencer Johnson, UCLA |
| Nov. 5 | David Saye, MSU |
| Nov. 12 | Jack Anthrop, OSU |
| Jan. 14 | Bjorn Swenson, MICH |
| Jan. 21 | Alex Okonkwo, OSU |
| Jan. 28 | Alexander Bernard, OSU |
| Feb. 4 | Nikita Filin, OSU |
| Feb. 11 | Max Dahlin, MICH |
| Feb. 18 | Jack Anthrop, OSU |
| Feb. 25 | William Mroz, ILL |
| March 4 | Gabriel Debru, ILL |
| March 11 | Zach Viiala, ILL |
| March 18 | Matthew Forbes, MSU |
| March 25 | Nikita Filin, OSU |
| April 1 | Aristotelis Thanos, MSU / Emon van Loben Sels, UCLA |
Players Mentioned
NCAA Men's Tennis vs. USC - Billy Martin, Spencer Johnson (May 9, 2025)
Saturday, May 10
NCAA MTN Super Regionals - Billy Martin, Spencer Johnson (May 9, 2025)
Friday, May 09
M. Tennis Interview - Coach Martin on T2's "Second Serve" (April 28, 2025)
Monday, April 28
Portraits of Culture - Bryce Pereira
Friday, May 28