CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men’s tennis team held the 18th pick in the 2026 ITA Kickoff Weekend Draft, choosing to compete at the New York City site from Jan. 23-24. The No. 4-seeded Fighting Illini will take on top-seeded Columbia in the opening round of play, while No. 2 Florida and No. 3 Kentucky round out the four-team region.
The ITA Kickoff Weekend Draft allows teams to choose their preferred playing site based on various factors, including travel, opponent, and facility. With 14 host sites pre-determined based on the 2025 end-of-year rankings, the remaining teams – also sorted by rankings – then select both a seed and a location until all 14 host sites are filled.
The 58-team field features 14 host sites, with teams competing for a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, which will be hosted on the campuses of Baylor and SMU. All teams are guaranteed two matches during ITA Kickoff Weekend, though the tournament is held in a single-elimination format.
The 14 host sites for ITA Kickoff Weekend, in order of end-of-year rank: Wake Forest, TCU, Texas, Stanford, Virginia, Ohio State, NC State, Columbia, San Diego, Mississippi State, Arizona, Cal, South Carolina, and UCLA. The No. 1-seeded Demon Deacons won the event in 2025.
At the 2025 ITA Kickoff Weekend, Illinois narrowly fell to host No. 14 Tennessee, 4-2, in its first match before bouncing back with a 4-2 victory against Auburn in the consolation.
The Illini have won the ITA National Team Indoor Championship twice in program history, securing back-to-back team titles in 2003 and 2004.
The full draft results can be found HERE.
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