September was a big month for Keegan Rice, and his collegiate season is only just getting underway.
The Saskatchewanian is heading into his third year at the University of Virginia with high hopes after a strong sophomore season and kicked things off with a bang in his first event of the new school year.
Here is the monthly university tennis update.
The month began with a high honour for Rice, as the 20-year-old was nominated to Team Canada presented by IGA for the first time in his career in the Davis Cup Qualifiers Second Round in Quebec City. While he did not get into a match, the youngster got the invaluable experience of practising all week with the team that included world No. 5 Félix Auger-Aliassime.
Perhaps thanks to his Davis Cup preparation, Rice hit the ground running at his first NCAA tournament of the year, the 2026 All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Rice was seeded second and showed why, tearing through the draw on his way to the final without dropping a set. He barely even surrendered games through his first five matches. He lost just 11 games in the first four rounds and 18 total before the final. He only lost more than three games in a set once in his first five matches.
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However, he hit the wall in the final, falling to TCU's Roger Pascual Ferra in the title match.
It was nearly an all-Canadian men's final in Tulsa, as Kentucky's Nicolas Arseneault reached the semis but also lost to Pascual Ferra.
In the NCAA DI pre-season rankings on Aug. 27, Rice was one of seven Canadians ranked in the Top 10 in at least one discipline.
Rice entered the 2026-27 season as the No. 2 Canadian in men's singles. He is ranked No. 6 in the NCAA, three spots behind his Davis Cup teammate Duncan Chan of TCU, who is ranked No. 3.
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The Arseneault twins, Mikael and Nicolas, who are entering their second year at the University of Kentucky, come into the season as the No. 9 doubles team.
There are also two Canadian women in the Top 10 singles rankings. Teah Chavez of Ohio State starts the year at No. 4, while Cadence Brace of LSU sits at No. 9. In doubles, Alexia Jacobs of the University of Washington is part of the No. 5 doubles pair.
On this side of the border, the Ontario university tennis championships will take place in early October, with the University of Toronto looking to sweep the men's and women's titles for the second year in a row.
Feature Photo : Mathieu Belanger
