How Yelyzaveta Akimenko Prepares Juniors for the New Reality of College Tennis in the U.S.

Is it still worth preparing a child for college tennis? Parents are bringing that question to Yelyzaveta Akimenko, one of the leading coaches at Khachatryan Tennis Academy in Burbank, California, more and more often. Many of them have spent years investing time and money in their children’s athletic futures, and now, following the news from college sports, they are questioning that goal for the first time. Akimenko answers without hesitation: The road to college is still open, but the bar has risen, and the level that was enough a few years ago is no longer enough to earn a roster spot.

The concern is real. According to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, 22 college tennis programs in the United States were slated for elimination in the 2025-26 season alone, nine of them in NCAA Division I. In a single week this spring, four Division I schools announced they were cutting tennis: Saint Louis, Illinois State, North Dakota and Arkansas, a member of the Southeastern Conference, one of the most prestigious in the country.

“The whole college tennis community is in shock,” ITA CEO David Mullins told Front Office Sports. Arkansas kept its teams only after donors pledged about $5 million. Even that is a temporary fix: To secure the programs’ future, the university is seeking a $50 million endowment.

The cause lies in the biggest overhaul of college sports in decades. For years, American universities earned billions from televised football and basketball games while paying athletes nothing directly beyond scholarships. A group of athletes challenged that system in court, and in 2025 a judge approved a settlement in House v. NCAA. Schools may now pay athletes directly, up to $20.5 million a year.

The lion’s share of that money goes to football and basketball, the sports that bring in most of the revenue, while sports that do not turn a profit absorb the cost, and tennis has been among the first to feel it. The reform also capped Division I tennis rosters at participating schools at 10 players. In other words, there are fewer programs, and fewer open spots on each of the teams that remain.

Akimenko sees all of this through the eyes of someone who has walked the same path from start to finish. Tall, with a powerful serve and an aggressive style of play, she competed on the International Tennis Federation junior circuit and won international tournaments. As a teenager, she deliberately built her ranking, and that ranking ultimately opened the doors to an American university. At the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, she played No. 1 singles, arguably the most demanding position in college tennis, facing the opponent’s strongest player every week.

In the 2021 season, she went 10-6 at that position and earned All-South Atlantic Conference honorable mention. Along the way, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, finishing most semesters with honors. Today she holds Professional-level certification from the Racquet Sports Professionals Association, awarded after an extensive examination of teaching, playing and business skills. At Khachatryan Tennis Academy, Akimenko prepares juniors for college tennis: Her students compete in tournaments and are aiming for spots on NCAA rosters.

In Akimenko’s view, the cuts will inevitably make recruiting more selective. Colleges no longer need players who are strong in only one part of the game. A college dual match consists of the doubles point and six singles matches. Six players take the court and play both singles and doubles, and with a 10-player roster there is almost no bench. Every player has to be ready for both, hold up over a demanding season and stay composed under pressure.

“Families tend to look at the ranking,” she said. “A college coach looks at how dependable a player is for the team. If you prepare a junior for that ahead of time, the cuts are no longer the end of the road.”

Her coaching method is built on that understanding. In training, doubles gets the same weight as singles, and conditioning is designed for the demands of a full college season. Akimenko starts preparing students for recruiting as early as ninth grade: She builds their tournament schedules, puts together video for college coaches and pays close attention to on-court behavior, which coaches weigh as heavily as technique.

Her students are the best evidence that the approach works. Alex Galstyan has reached a UTR of 11, a level at which Division I programs take a serious interest in juniors. Training alongside him in Akimenko’s group are Sofia and Jack Dermenjyan, as well as Vartan Tolomyan, all strong Southern California juniors, and one of her students already plays for a Division I team.

Her work is also highly regarded within the academy. Its founder, Harout Khachatryan, was once ranked among the top 20 players in the Soviet Union, led Armenia’s Davis Cup team and coached the Soviet junior national team. Over the academy’s three decades in Southern California, generations of players and coaches have passed through his hands, which gives his words particular weight. “I haven’t come across a coach like this in a very long time,” Khachatryan said. “Yelyzaveta is young, but she has real high-level tennis behind her, and you can feel that experience in every session she runs. The level her students are reaching speaks for itself.”

American college tennis has entered a period in which opportunities are shrinking faster than families can adjust their plans. In that environment, the deciding factor is the professionalism of the people guiding juniors toward the college court. The story of Yelyzaveta Akimenko and her students shows that even in an era of cuts, the path to top-level college sports remains open to those who are prepared for it with an understanding of the new rules, careful planning and real knowledge of the system from the inside.