University of Georgia Athletics
Blaydes Signs for 2024 Spring Season
September 22, 2023 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Georgia men's tennis program has signed freshman Freddy Blaydes, who will join the team for the 2024 spring season, head coach Manuel Diaz announced Friday evening.
A native of Windermere, England, Blaydes has a career-best International Tennis Federation Junior world ranking of No. 117 and currently has a Universal Tennis Rating of 12.58. He owns seven ITF juniors' titles, two in singles and five in doubles, and made the doubles finals of two futures tournaments.
"We are thrilled to welcome Freddy to Athens," Diaz said. "He has been an outstanding player at the junior level and has shown promise while playing in ITF events this past year. Freddy is a high-character individual that will excel in our program and be a great fit. We are excited to watch him develop in the coming years."
Blaydes played this past year on the ITF tour instead of the junior circuit, winning 13 doubles matches across eight tournaments since April, making the finals in two events. He currently holds an Association of Tennis Professionals doubles ranking of No. 886 in the world.
As a junior, he played in the Wimbledon boys' main draw in both singles and doubles in July, finishing in the second round of both draws. Blaydes earned both of his ITF juniors' titles in singles during 2022, where he first won the J60 Frederiksberg in Denmark on Feb. 19 and then the J60 Oslo in Norway just a week later on Feb. 26. He claimed his first doubles title in 2021 at the J60 Liverpool before winning four more in 2022 – the J60 Loughborough, the J100 Loughborough, the J100 Glasgow and the J200 Aldershot, all of which were in the United Kingdom.
Born Dec. 13, 2005, Freddy is the son of Joanne and Chris Blaydes. He is also the brother to Billy, who is a sophomore on the Auburn men's tennis team. Billy earned a spot on the 2023 SEC All-Freshman Team after going 14-7 in dual match play, primarily appearing on court six in singles.
Blaydes becomes the sixth freshman on a young roster, joining five-stars Cyrus Mahjoob and Davis Taylor, four stars Parker Jacques and Parker Mariencheck as well as Belgium-native Niels Raitu. The Bulldogs also signed USC transfer Ryan Colby, who was a former blue-chip prospect and All-Pac 12 honoree. Juniors Thomas Paulsell, Miguel Perez Peña and redshirt sophomore Filipe Costa round out the 2023-24 roster as the three returnees from the 2023 SEC regular season championship team.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Instagram and X @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
A native of Windermere, England, Blaydes has a career-best International Tennis Federation Junior world ranking of No. 117 and currently has a Universal Tennis Rating of 12.58. He owns seven ITF juniors' titles, two in singles and five in doubles, and made the doubles finals of two futures tournaments.
"We are thrilled to welcome Freddy to Athens," Diaz said. "He has been an outstanding player at the junior level and has shown promise while playing in ITF events this past year. Freddy is a high-character individual that will excel in our program and be a great fit. We are excited to watch him develop in the coming years."
Blaydes played this past year on the ITF tour instead of the junior circuit, winning 13 doubles matches across eight tournaments since April, making the finals in two events. He currently holds an Association of Tennis Professionals doubles ranking of No. 886 in the world.
As a junior, he played in the Wimbledon boys' main draw in both singles and doubles in July, finishing in the second round of both draws. Blaydes earned both of his ITF juniors' titles in singles during 2022, where he first won the J60 Frederiksberg in Denmark on Feb. 19 and then the J60 Oslo in Norway just a week later on Feb. 26. He claimed his first doubles title in 2021 at the J60 Liverpool before winning four more in 2022 – the J60 Loughborough, the J100 Loughborough, the J100 Glasgow and the J200 Aldershot, all of which were in the United Kingdom.
Born Dec. 13, 2005, Freddy is the son of Joanne and Chris Blaydes. He is also the brother to Billy, who is a sophomore on the Auburn men's tennis team. Billy earned a spot on the 2023 SEC All-Freshman Team after going 14-7 in dual match play, primarily appearing on court six in singles.
Blaydes becomes the sixth freshman on a young roster, joining five-stars Cyrus Mahjoob and Davis Taylor, four stars Parker Jacques and Parker Mariencheck as well as Belgium-native Niels Raitu. The Bulldogs also signed USC transfer Ryan Colby, who was a former blue-chip prospect and All-Pac 12 honoree. Juniors Thomas Paulsell, Miguel Perez Peña and redshirt sophomore Filipe Costa round out the 2023-24 roster as the three returnees from the 2023 SEC regular season championship team.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Instagram and X @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
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