Kentucky men’s tennis is coming off a strong performance after beating No. 12 Georgia at home, but the highlight of the night belonged to Eli Stephenson and what may have been the shot of a lifetime.

After helping Kentucky secure the doubles point, Stephenson struggled early in singles play against No. 35 Arda Azkara, dropping the first set 6-1.

The second set did not start much better for the junior, who was broken early and fell behind. The Louisville native responded by winning five consecutive games and eventually took the set 6-3 to force a deciding third set.

Despite the momentum, Stephenson found himself trailing 4-2 in the final set before delivering a near-impossible shot that changed the match.

With the score at 4-3 and midway through the eighth game of the set, Stephenson and Azkara were locked in a long rally when the wind carried the ball back over the net to Azkara’s side of the court. 

Instead of running around the net post, Stephenson made a split-second decision — he leaped over the net and hit the ball before it bounced, carefully avoiding any contact with the net that would have cost him the point.

The crowd erupted, but there was still uncertainty about whether the point would count due to the unusual play. After a lengthy discussion that included the head ITA official, Stephenson was awarded the point. 

The video has went viral across the sports world due to the unreal and unusual nature. On the team’s official X page, the video has accumulated 3.7 million views as of Tuesday, April 7.

The moment proved to be a turning point as he went on to win three of the next four games before taking the match 7-5 in the final set.

With the win, Stephenson added to an impressive regular-season resume. He currently holds the No. 24 singles ranking and has recorded five ranked wins during the spring season after earning four ranked wins in the fall. Stephenson now sits at 24-9 on the season and is looking to once again crack the top 20.