The Texas Tech Women’s Tennis team has officially announced the addition of Polina Sleptsova, a native of Almaty, Kazakhstan, to their roster for the upcoming season. The announcement was made by head coach Adam Herendeen on Tuesday afternoon.
“We are thrilled to welcome Polina to Texas Tech!” Herendeen expressed. “We believe that she is going to come in and have a big impact on our program from her first day on campus. She has some big goals and we are excited to help her reach them.”
Sleptsova comes to Texas Tech with impressive credentials, having been ranked as high as No. 168 in the ITF junior singles rankings and No. 827 in the ITF women’s rankings. During her junior career, she has won three ITF singles and doubles titles. Notably, she reached the doubles semifinals at the Ust-Kamenogorsk 15k in August 2023 and made the doubles quarterfinals of the same tournament the following year.
In the 2023 Ust-Kamenogorsk 15k, Sleptsova advanced through the qualifying rounds with victories over Hanna Vinahradava (ITF 266) and Ingkar Dyussebay (ITF 566). She repeated her success at the same tournament the following year, securing wins against Larisa Bekmetova (ITF 205) and Diana Yakovleva (ITF 128).
Her most recent achievement came in June 2023 when she earned a main draw bid at the Antalya 15k by defeating three players in qualifying, including Ke Ren (ITF 206), Leticia Matuszewski, and Ekaterina Kuznetsova (ITF 26).
Sleptsova has also dominated on the junior circuit, sweeping the singles and doubles titles at both the J100 Shymkent and J100 Issyk-Kul tournaments. She claimed a singles title at the J60 Antalya tournament and a doubles title at the J100 Tashkent event. In December 2023, she made waves by being the only international player to reach the singles quarterfinals at the prestigious Orange Bowl 16s Championships in Plantation, Florida.
In addition to her individual success, Sleptsova has represented her country on the international stage, competing in the Junior Billie Jean King Cup finals. Her experience and accolades make her a highly anticipated addition to the Texas Tech roster as she looks to make an immediate impact for the team.
