Belmont's Marko Illic and Austin Peay's Fabienne Schmidt were ranked first on the Ohio Valley Conference tennis preseason top 10 players list as voted on by the leagues head coaches. Illic topped the men's list followed by Jacksonville State senior Joaquin Vallejo, Jacksonville State graduate student Guillermo Agost, Tennessee Tech freshman Evzen Holis, Tennessee Tech sophomore Elias Grubert, Belmont senior Taisei Miyamoto, Tennessee Tech sophomore Carlos Vicente, Jacksonville State junior Tom Norwood, Tennessee Tech sophomore Rafael Tosetto and Austin Peay senior Christian Edison.
Schmidt earned the No. 1 spot on the women's side followed by Eastern Illinois redshirt junior Rachel Papavasilopoulos, Murray State senior Stasya Sharapova, SIUE redshirt freshman Jill Lambrechts, Austin Peay junior Danielle Morris, Jacksonville State junior Harriet Hamilton, Austin Peay sophomore Jana Leder, Murray State redshirt senior Sara Loncarevic, SIUE redshirt sophomore Vanessa Reinicke and Southeast Missouri junior Romana Tarajova.
Illic, a senior, posted a 11-2 record at the No. 1 singles spot while also earning a 9-3 mark at No. 1 doubles in the 2020 season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, he was named to the All-OVC First team ,
A senior, Schmidt went 16-3 at No. 1 singles while also going 15-4 at the No. 1 doubles spot last year prior to the season being cut short. She earned All-OVC second team honors in 2019.
2021 OVC Men's Top Ten Player Rankings
(as voted on by the league's head coaches)
1. Marko Ilic, Belmont
2. Joaquin Vallejo, Jacksonville State
3. Gullemo Agost, Jacksonville State
4. Evzen Holis, Tennessee Tech
5. Elias Grubert, Tennessee Tech
6. Taisei Miyamoto, Belmont
7. Carlos Vicente, Tennessee Tech
8. Tom Norwood, Jacksonville State
9. Rafael Tosetto, Tennessee Tech
10. Christian Edison, Austin Peay
2021 OVC Women's Top Ten Player Rankings
(as voted on by the league's head coaches)
1. Fabienne Schmidt, Austin Peay
2. Rachel Papavasilopaulos, Eastern Illinois
3. Stasya Sharapova, Murray State
4. Jill Lambrechts, SIuE
5. Danielle Morris, Austin Peay
6. Harriet Hamilton, Jacksonville State
7. Jana Leder, Austin Peay
8. Sara Loncarevic, Murray State
9. Vanessa Reinicke, SIUE
10. Romana Tarajova, Southeast Missour