Mari-Louise Van Zyl 2025-26 Women's Tennis Roster

CAREER HONORS

• 2026 ITA Scholar-Athlete
• 2026 ACC All-Academic Team

AS A FRESHMAN (2025-26)

• 2026 ITA Scholar-Athlete
• 2026 ACC All-Academic Team
• Won the 15K Botswana in May 2026. It marked her first professional singles title at the ITF W15 event. She also became the first Irish player to win a pro title in the Coach Silverio era.
• Reached the semifinals of the W15 Hillcrest in South Africa in July 2026
• Achieved an 11-5 overall record in singles
• Was 7-3 in dual singles during the spring
• Tallied a 13-12 overall record in doubles
• Found her groove in doubles in the spring, where she produced a 12-5 dual record. In fact, she started the season 7-0 in doubles
• Van Zyl was 9-4 alongside Akari Matsuno
• Was 5-3 in doubles matches against ACC competition
• Went 2-1 in doubles at the ACC Tournament, which included wins over teams from No. 24 Clemson and No. 6 North Carolina

PREP

• Achieved career-high ITF junior ranking of 189
• Career high WTA ranking of 1200
• Two-time ITF J100 winner
• Represented South Africa in numerous international competitions
  • When she was 16, she competed at the Billie Jean Cup event in Portugal
• South African National Singles winner u/14 and u/16
• Achieved the year-end No. 1 u/18 South African ranking in 2024
• Was part of the South African team that competed at the African Games in 2024 where I made the quarterfinals.
• I have been selected for the South African National team five times, from u/12 to u/18 where we could compete at the African Junior Championships at each respective age group.
• Spent a year abroad in Tunisia when she was 16/17 to be a part of an ITF training centre.

PERSONAL

• Father, Japie van Zyl – professional track and field athlete
• Majoring in Finance

WHY NOTRE DAME

I chose Notre Dame because it offers the unique opportunity to combine world class academics and athletics. The community I found during my visit to Notre Dame made it obvious that this is the place I wanted to call home. The values the university holds of faith, community, excellence and commitment to serve the common good creates an environment where student can grow as an athletic and as a person.