Kentucky tennis Head Coach Cedric Kauffmann has firmly established UK as a top program in college tennis and that success has begun to show at the professional level.

Kentucky’s dominance started in the 2020-21 season when a pair of sophomores emerged as future stars for the Cats.  

One half of that duo was Gabriel Diallo, a 6-foot-8, right-handed young stud from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  

Diallo would become one of the best players Kentucky has ever seen, dominating on both the singles and doubles courts, and he is now displaying that talent at the highest level.  

Kauffmann saw flashes of Diallo’s professional potential throughout his tenure at UK, but the 2022 semi-final match against Ohio State was one that stood out.  

“I think he beat somebody that was top 10 in college and he kind of put a whoop into him, I think 6-3, 6-2,” Kauffmann recalled.

While he may have been slightly off on the ranking of the opponent, he nailed the score as Diallo was the first singles match to conclude in the ‘20 semi-finals against No. 13 Matej Vocel 6-3, 6-2.

The Cats went on to win that match to reach their first national championship in program history, thus beginning a new era for Kentucky men’s tennis.

Diallo finished his final season in blue his junior year with a combined singles and doubles record of 38-8 with seven wins over ranked opponents.  

Now a 23-year-old player currently in his second year on the ATP Tour, Diallo is beginning to make a name for himself professionally.  

He recently cracked the ATP top 100 and currently sits as the No. 88 player in the world, something Kauffmann is extremely proud of.  

“We’re really happy for him and his family,” Kauffmann said. “That’s something special to get in the top 100. It’s a lot of hard work.”

That hard work includes a near storybook run in Diallo’s first ever U.S. Open appearance. 

Before he could even make the trip to New York, Diallo had to win his three-match qualifier where he saved two match-points in his second-round match.   

He reached the third round and put up a hard fight, falling 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (3) against the No. 14 player in the world Tommy Paul.  

Before reaching the third round, Diallo took down No. 24 Arthur Fils 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4 in the second round and No. 84 Jaume Munar 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the opening round.

“I think when he made that run at the U.S. Open, (it) just made him believe that he can beat anybody,” Kauffmann said.

Most recently, Diallo reached his first ever ATP 250 final where he almost pulled out a comeback after being down a set and break to No. 26 Karen Khachanov, but ultimately fell 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. 

After a career year on tour, Diallo has brought home $587,565 in prize money and has begun to establish himself as one of the best players in the world.

“Everybody’s got dreams when they’re little,” Kauffmann said. “He’s achieving it.”