A set of twins stand on a tennis court, separated only by a net. Fueled by determination, one brother serves the ball, beginning the battle for the Canadian national championship title. 

For these twins, tennis is everything. The sport connects them to family, friends and each other. Not only have they grown up practicing side by side, but their sister, Ariana Arseneault, now plays tennis at a professional level. According to the twins, their parents also have a love for tennis that was passed to them.

Now, members of the Kentucky men’s tennis team, Nicolas Arseneault and Mikael Arseneault, have moved on from their junior careers, where they were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 as Canadian juniors. 

The pair have been playing tennis since the age of four, competing together for their entire lives. Mikael uses that competitive nature to his advantage. 

“We’re always competing. I think that’s why we’re so good because we always want to beat each other and get better and better,” Mikael said. 

While the Arseneault twins compete against each other often, according to Nicolas, they play together with ease. 

“I play way more free with my brother. Like I don’t care if I make a mistake,” Nicolas said. “I don’t care if he gets mad at me, he’s my brother you know?” 

To the twins, playing doubles together is easy because they have an understanding that they lack with other partners. Being able to read each other and know what the other is thinking has made them better players.

However, they still feel the strain that comes with competing against each other. 

“Sometimes we have arguments on the court,” Nicolas said. “But we just forget about it the next day.”

Being able to forgive arguments on the court comes with growing up together, said the twins, knowing your teammate for 18 years creates a bond like no other. 

“We understand each other. We know what the other is doing on the court. I can say whatever I want to him, but when I’m with someone else, it’s a little different than being with your brother,”  Mikael said. 

The Arseneaults were homeschooled for six years before going to college, all to focus on training. They went from traveling the world for tournaments and training as a pair to a team setting. 

The twins coped with this drastic change not only because they were comfortable on the court together, but they had each other.

“I feel like we really get along with our team very well, but even if we didn’t, we still had each other, we wouldn’t be left alone” Mikael said. 

Nicolas’ year started with more difficulty. Although the twins relied on each other at the beginning of the year, both Mikael and Nicolas learned to lean on their teammates.

“I was super shy in the beginning, like the first two weeks I didn’t really talk to my team,” Nicolas said. “I was in a losing streak this fall. I wasn’t playing great. My whole team they were helping me so much, and I’m super grateful for them and my coaches also.”

While the season may not have started the way Nicolas intended, the team he and his brother found pushed them to be better players. 

Finding mentors in their coaches and teammates has made UK feel like home for the twins, something they said was important to them after moving far from home. 

“The older guys on the team they’ve helped me and my brother on and off the court. They want to help us, back at home we didn’t really have that,” Nicolas said. 

In practices, matches and off the court, the relationships that the Arseneault twins have fostered at UK have given them motivation to work for the ultimate goal, winning an NCAA championship. 

“Hopefully, we can do it this year. I think our team is talented enough to win it, definitely try getting that ring for the team,” Nicolas said. 

Not only has a team environment created a strong foundation for the twins, but the coaches they work with have changed how they think about tennis. 

The coaches have helped them improve their weaknesses on the court, supported them academically and created a space in practice where mistakes can be made and learned from. 

“They just gave a different perspective of tennis I’ve never had,” Mikael said. “It’s more like a trust thing, trusting them and whatever they tell me. I do trust them and the results are already showing.”

Although the Arseneault twins have entered a new environment, where their team is more than the two of them, they continue to stick together. 

They have watched each other struggle through difficult matches and losing streaks, but the support they provide each other keeps them pushing toward their goals. For the twins, tennis is more than just a sport, it is their whole lives, something that connects them no matter what. 

“We just love having each other, I guess, just helps everything. It makes everything easier, makes everything more fun, more comfortable. You have someone familiar from your home.” Mikael said. 

A set of twins stand on a tennis court, separated only by a net. Fueled by determination, one brother serves the ball, beginning the battle for the Canadian national championship title. 

For these twins, tennis is everything. The sport connects them to family, friends and each other. Not only have they grown up practicing side by side, but their sister, Ariana Arseneault, now plays tennis at a professional level. According to the twins, their parents also have a love for tennis that was passed to them.

Now, members of the Kentucky men’s tennis team, Nicolas Arseneault and Mikael Arseneault, have moved on from their junior careers, where they were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 as Canadian juniors. 

The pair have been playing tennis since the age of four, competing together for their entire lives. Mikael uses that competitive nature to his advantage. 

“We’re always competing. I think that’s why we’re so good because we always want to beat each other and get better and better,” Mikael said. 

While the Arseneault twins compete against each other often, according to Nicolas, they play together with ease. 

“I play way more free with my brother. Like I don’t care if I make a mistake,” Nicolas said. “I don’t care if he gets mad at me, he’s my brother you know?” 

To the twins, playing doubles together is easy because they have an understanding that they lack with other partners. Being able to read each other and know what the other is thinking has made them better players.

However, they still feel the strain that comes with competing against each other. 

“Sometimes we have arguments on the court,” Nicolas said. “But we just forget about it the next day.”

Being able to forgive arguments on the court comes with growing up together, said the twins, knowing your teammate for 18 years creates a bond like no other. 

“We understand each other. We know what the other is doing on the court. I can say whatever I want to him, but when I’m with someone else, it’s a little different than being with your brother,”  Mikael said. 

The Arseneaults were homeschooled for six years before going to college, all to focus on training. They went from traveling the world for tournaments and training as a pair to a team setting. 

The twins coped with this drastic change not only because they were comfortable on the court together, but they had each other.

“I feel like we really get along with our team very well, but even if we didn’t, we still had each other, we wouldn’t be left alone” Mikael said. 

Nicolas’ year started with more difficulty. Although the twins relied on each other at the beginning of the year, both Mikael and Nicolas learned to lean on their teammates.

“I was super shy in the beginning, like the first two weeks I didn’t really talk to my team,” Nicolas said. “I was in a losing streak this fall. I wasn’t playing great. My whole team they were helping me so much, and I’m super grateful for them and my coaches also.”

While the season may not have started the way Nicolas intended, the team he and his brother found pushed them to be better players. 

Finding mentors in their coaches and teammates has made UK feel like home for the twins, something they said was important to them after moving far from home. 

“The older guys on the team they’ve helped me and my brother on and off the court. They want to help us, back at home we didn’t really have that,” Nicolas said. 

In practices, matches and off the court, the relationships that the Arseneault twins have fostered at UK have given them motivation to work for the ultimate goal, winning an NCAA championship. 

“Hopefully, we can do it this year. I think our team is talented enough to win it, definitely try getting that ring for the team,” Nicolas said. 

Not only has a team environment created a strong foundation for the twins, but the coaches they work with have changed how they think about tennis. 

The coaches have helped them improve their weaknesses on the court, supported them academically and created a space in practice where mistakes can be made and learned from. 

“They just gave a different perspective of tennis I’ve never had,” Mikael said. “It’s more like a trust thing, trusting them and whatever they tell me. I do trust them and the results are already showing.”

Although the Arseneault twins have entered a new environment, where their team is more than the two of them, they continue to stick together. 

They have watched each other struggle through difficult matches and losing streaks, but the support they provide each other keeps them pushing toward their goals. For the twins, tennis is more than just a sport, it is their whole lives, something that connects them no matter what. 

“We just love having each other, I guess, just helps everything. It makes everything easier, makes everything more fun, more comfortable. You have someone familiar from your home.” Mikael said.