Published for Clemson Tigers fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 24, 2026
🐅 Clemson Tigers Fans — Your Tigers Are Waiting!
Burnt orange and Northwest purple, under the lights at Duckworth. The Tigers women’s tennis team is one of the ACC’s rising programs, led by a senior anchor, a ranked singles threat and one of the world’s most talented young doubles players. Get ready to wear the orange.
The Club
The Clemson Tigers are Clemson University’s women’s tennis team, competing in the ACC and playing home matches at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility in Clemson, South Carolina, where entry to home matches is free. The program is built on head coach Boomer Saia’s first full recruiting class — a group ranked among the nation’s best when it signed — and the Tigers carried a national ranking into the heart of the 2026 spring season. The colors are officially burnt orange and Northwest purple, and the motto says it all: SOLID ORANGE. Searching for the Clemson Tigers roster, the Tigers schedule or Clemson tennis tickets? This is the place to start — and the orange-and-purple kit is the way to wear it.
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Last Season: A Ranked Spring in the ACC
The 2026 spring season showed exactly where Clemson women’s tennis is headed. The Tigers opened at home on January 16 against Mercer, then went on the road for ITA Kickoff Weekend, facing Tennessee and then Pepperdine or Washington. The early-season statement came on January 23, when Clemson beat No. 13 Pepperdine 4-3 — a win over a top-15 opponent that set the tone for everything that followed. Back home at Duckworth, the Tigers rolled past College of Charleston 7-0 on February 14, with Jade Groen winning at the top of the singles lineup, Ria Bhakta winning in straight sets and Gaia Parravicini closing out the sweep.
ACC play opened on the West Coast, at California on February 20 and Stanford on February 22, and the home stretch brought a five-match homestand through March. The home finale was a weekend to remember: the Tigers closed the regular-season home slate by sweeping No. 32 Miami 4-0 on March 29, with senior Jade Groen clinching the doubles point alongside freshman Rinon Okuwaki and then beating No. 101 Sofia Rocchetti in straight sets on senior day. At that point Clemson stood at 16-4 overall and 6-2 in the ACC, ranked No. 22 nationally. The regular season closed with a tough away trip, at No. 5 North Carolina on April 3 and No. 24 Duke on April 4. No final record or postseason result has been verified for this guide, so none is claimed here — but the direction of travel is unmistakable.
Best Players Right Now
Jade Groen, Singles Anchor and Doubles Leader — The senior transfer who became the program’s anchor. Groen played at the top of the singles lineup all spring, won on senior day against Miami, and formed one of the nation’s ranked doubles pairs with freshman Rinon Okuwaki — ranked No. 23 in the country in 2026 match notes and No. 29 by the time of the Miami sweep. She is the player the big moments ran through.
Ria Bhakta, Ranked Singles Threat — The junior from Delray Beach, Florida, who gave Clemson a ranked singles presence, listed at No. 124 in ITA singles in 2026 match notes. Bhakta won in straight sets in the 7-0 rout of College of Charleston and held down a middle-court singles spot against top opposition, including Pepperdine, all spring. She is a returning piece the 2026-27 team builds around.
Gaia Parravicini, Doubles Star — The sophomore from Bollate, Italy, and one of the most talented young doubles players in the world, in her coach’s own words. Parravicini arrived at Clemson with a professional doubles title already to her name, won at a 2024 event in Egypt, and ranked No. 48 nationally in doubles alongside Amelie Smejkalova in 2026 match notes. She closed out the College of Charleston sweep in straight sets and is a returning piece for the seasons ahead.
The trio is rounded out by additional 2026 contributors including freshman Rinon Okuwaki, senior Romana Cisovska and sophomore Talia Neilson-Gatenby, giving the Tigers depth across the lineup.
Star Spotlight: Stories You Should Know
The senior transfer who became the anchor. Jade Groen arrived at Clemson as a senior transfer and immediately became the player the lineup was built around — top-court singles, the clinching doubles pair, and the senior-day hero against Miami. Transfers are supposed to need time to settle. Groen skipped that step entirely.
A recruiting class that changed the program. Head coach Boomer Saia’s first class — the group that brought Parravicini, Bhakta and their classmates to Clemson — was ranked No. 7 nationally by the Tennis Recruiting Network, the program’s highest-ranked class since 2012. The 2026 spring, with a national ranking and wins over top-15 and top-35 opposition, is what that class was recruited to deliver.
Doubles is a Clemson weapon. The Tigers did not have one ranked doubles pair in 2026 — they had a whole stable of them, from Groen and Okuwaki at the top court to Parravicini and Smejkalova and the Cisovska and Neilson-Gatenby pair that raced to a 6-0 win over Miami. In college tennis, the doubles point sets the tone. Clemson knows it.
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This Season: Building on a Ranked Spring
This season is about turning a ranked spring into a program standard. The 2026 spring proved Clemson can beat top-15 opposition, sweep ranked ACC opponents at home and carry a national ranking into April — and the returning core of Bhakta and Parravicini, plus the class behind them, gives the Tigers a foundation to build on. Groen’s senior season set the bar; now the program’s job is to clear it again. The usual shape of the year holds: the fall ITA circuit, including the ITA All-American Championships and the ITA Carolina Regional, followed by the spring dual season at Duckworth, where home entry is free and the orange travels well.
Mark Your Calendar: The Road Ahead
Clemson fans, one honest note before the dates: the Tigers’ 2026-27 schedule had not been published at the time of writing, so no fixtures are listed here. When Clemson publishes the schedule, this guide will be updated with every home date at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility and every ACC weekend. Until then, the rhythm to expect is the familiar one — fall ITA events, then the spring dual season, with the in-state clash against South Carolina and the ACC weekends against the league’s ranked powers circled first.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. South Carolina — the Palmetto War. The in-state rivalry is the one every Clemson fan circles first. The Tigers traveled to Columbia in February 2026 for the latest meeting, and in a state where college loyalties run deep, no Clemson season feels complete without beating the Gamecocks. Orange against garnet, with the whole state watching.
2. North Carolina and Duke — the ACC summit. The regular season closed with the hardest possible road trip: No. 5 North Carolina on April 3, then No. 24 Duke the next day. Those are the programs Clemson is chasing in the ACC, and measuring the Tigers against them is how you know how far the program has come.
3. Florida State and Miami — the March sweep weekend. The home finale weekend showed what Duckworth can be: Florida State on the Friday, then a 4-0 sweep of No. 32 Miami on the Sunday, with the doubles point clinched and the seniors sent off in style. ACC weekends like that are the ones fans remember.
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🌟 Star in Focus: Jade Groen
Jade Groen arrived at Clemson as a senior transfer and left as the player the 2026 spring revolved around — top-court singles, the clinching doubles pair with Rinon Okuwaki, and the senior-day hero in the 4-0 sweep of Miami.
Her doubles partnership with Okuwaki was ranked No. 23 nationally in 2026 match notes, and her straight-sets senior-day singles win over a ranked opponent sealed a perfect home send-off.
For Tigers fans, Groen is the standard the next Clemson teams will be measured against.
Photo: ClemsonTigers.com
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the Clemson Tigers play next?
The Tigers’ 2026-27 schedule had not been published at the time of writing. Clemson plays its home matches at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility in Clemson, South Carolina, where home entry is free.
Where do the Clemson Tigers play?
The Tigers play their home matches at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility in Clemson, South Carolina. The team colors are burnt orange and Northwest purple, and the motto is SOLID ORANGE.
Who are the Clemson Tigers star players?
The 2026 star trio is Jade Groen (singles anchor and doubles leader), Ria Bhakta (ranked singles player) and Gaia Parravicini (doubles star). Rinon Okuwaki, Romana Cisovska and Talia Neilson-Gatenby are also key contributors.
Where can I buy Clemson Tigers fan gear?
Toxlay Sports offers fan-inspired apparel for Tigers supporters. Note that fan-inspired apparel is not official Clemson licensed merchandise.
Sources: Clemson University Athletics (clemsontigers.com), including the 2026 spring schedule announcement and 2026 match results, and 2026 opponent match notes — schedules and rosters checked October 2026.
SOLID ORANGE — the Tigers are rising, and Duckworth is the place to watch it happen.
