The University of Central Florida women’s tennis team was ranked No. 7 nationally in the latest 2026 recruiting class rankings released by Tennis Recruiting Network on June 1.
The Knights’ incoming class earned a total of 292 points as voted on by the network, making it the only Big 12 program to appear in the top ten nationwide. UCF finished ahead of regional competitors including Florida, Florida State, and Florida Atlantic University.
The recruiting class is led by three international players: Wei Zhangqian from China, Marta Makarova from Russia, and Konoha Kawasaki from Japan. Zhangqian holds an ITF junior ranking of No. 94 and has won four ITF Junior Titles along with a national ranking of No. 36 in China. She recently claimed victory at the J100 Huzhou tournament after dropping just one set across five rounds and qualified for both the Junior Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2025.
Makarova joins from Kirov, Russia, with a national ranking of No. 57 among Russian juniors (18U) and has secured three ITF Junior titles as well as an ITF Pro ranking of 248. Her recent achievements include back-to-back singles titles at the J60 Tsakhadzor event, highlighted by a comeback win over Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas after losing the first set.
Kawasaki comes to Orlando with a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) of 9.42.
