Wisconsin Badgers
Michigan
Five Things to Know: No. 29 men’s tennis begins Big Ten play
March 04, 2026 | Men's Tennis
Wisconsin travels to Michigan and Michigan State this weekend
1 – STRONG START – After ending its non-conference slate with a 9-1 record, Wisconsin is off to its best start to a season since the 2016 team started 13-1. While currently ranked No. 29, the Badgers earned as high as No. 21 in the February ITA rankings, their highest ranking since 2009.
Wisconsin wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a 7-0 sweep over Northern Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 21. The Badgers' fifth sweep of the season marked their most non-conference sweeps since the 2006 team tallied seven.
2 – DOUBLE THE FUN – The Badgers are cruising in doubles action, having won the doubles point in nine-of-ten matches this spring. Wisconsin is 18-6 in doubles matches, with its No. 2 pair of Ferdinand Kloesters and Michael Minasyan posting a 7-0 record in dual action.
The No. 1 partnership of Oliver Olsson and Tomas Zlatohlavek is currently on a four-match win streak, earning the No. 78 spot in this week's ITA rankings. The duo's most notable win this spring came in tiebreak fashion, defeating the then No. 16 ranked Notre Dame partnership of Llorens and Nad, 7-6 (7-4).
3 – KNOW YOUR OPPONENTS – In 95 matches played all-time against Michigan, UW is 8-86-1 and looking to snap a 16-match losing streak. In last year's meeting, the Wolverines secured a 4-3 victory over the Badgers. Michigan is 4-4 this season and led by redshirt freshman Max Dahlin, who is currently ranked No. 10 in Division I singles. The partnership of Dahlin and Bjorn Swenson earned the No. 6 spot in this week's ITA doubles rankings.
UW holds a 45-38 edge in the all-time series against Michigan State. The Badgers earned a 4-3 victory over the Spartans last season. MSU holds a 3-7 record entering conference, but has two players ranked in the ITA singles top 25. Sophomore Matthew Forbes is ranked No. 11 while senior Ozan Baris is ranked No. 25. In doubles action, Michigan State's Taym Alazmeh and Danial Rakhmatullayev are ranked No. 23.
4 – FOLLOW THE ACTION – Wisconsin will open its Big Ten play with a road match against No. 52 Michigan on Friday, March 6, at 5 p.m. CT. Live stats and video coverage can be found at mgoblue.com. The Badgers will stay in Michigan for a Sunday showdown with Michigan State on March 8 at 11 a.m. CT, with live stats and video coverage available at msuspartans.com. Live updates for both matches can be found on X (@BadgerMTennis) and Instagram (@wisconsintennis), and a match recap will be posted on uwbadgers.com.
5 – UP NEXT – The Badgers will return to Nielsen on Friday, March 13, for a match against No. 42 Northwestern. They will also face No. 11 Illinois on Sunday, March 15. First serve is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT and noon CT, respectively. Admission and parking are both free!
Players Mentioned
