MALIBU, Calif. — International recruits Anastasiia Grechkina and Sebastianna Scilipoti signed their national letters of intent and will join the Pepperdine women's tennis team in spring 2025, interim head coach Tassilo Schmid announced Friday.
With these additions, Pepperdine will have eight women on the roster, including six newcomers, for the spring season. Scilipoti, of Geneva, Switzerland, and Grechkina, of Moscow, Russia, will bolster a recruiting class that was rated the top mid-major class and the fifth-best in the nation according to the Tennis Recruiting Network.
"Sebastianna and Anastasiia are two tremendous additions to our program," Interim head coach Tassilo Schmid said. "Both of them have succeeded at elite levels on the pro and junior tour, but more importantly, they are great fits for Pepperdine tennis. They are going to thrive in Malibu!"
Anastasiia Grechkina
Moscow, Russia
A former top-5 player in Russia and a top-75 juniors player in the world, Grechkina comes to Pepperdine with a career-best WTA ranking of 727 in singles and 418 in doubles. She won seven junior titles (two in singles, five in doubles), plus she won two pro doubles titles.
In juniors, Grechkina was a mainstay on several Russian youth national teams and played in three of the four major junior grand slams. In 2021, she played her way into the main draw of the Wimbledon Junior Championships after competing at Roland Garros earlier that year. She won titles at the 2020 J5 Jelgava and 2021 J4 Karaganda tournaments, plus she made the semifinals six times in juniors tournaments.
This past year, Grechkina won her first two pro doubles titles at the W35 São Paulo and the W15 Antalya tournaments. She has made singles quarterfinals four times on the pro circuit.
"I knew a lot about this university and team, and I always liked it," Grechkina said. "Many things played a role for me to choose Pepperdine — for example, the location."
Sebastianna Scilipoti
Geneva, Switzerland
A native of Geneva, Switzerland, Scilipoti is a former top-15 juniors player with a career-high WTA singles ranking of 508 and a doubles ranking of 624. So far, Scilipoti has won five pro titles (three singles, and two doubles).
She won seven juniors titles (five singles and two doubles) and was a US Open Juniors Semifinalist in 2021, where she knocked off two seeded players as an unseeded player in her impressive tournament run. Earlier in her juniors career, she reached the third round of the 2021 junior championships at Roland Garros.
On the pro circuit, Scilipoti won her first title at the 2020 W15 Plaja d'Aro, then went on to win singles titles at the W15 Monastir and W15 Kursumlijska Banja tournaments. In doubles, Scilipoti won titles at the W15 Kursumlijska Banja and the W15 Antalya tournaments. All told she has reached the semifinals in singles seven times throughout her extensive time on the pro tour.
"I chose Pepperdine for its strong academics, commitment to values, and the opportunity to grow both on and off the tennis court," Scilipoti said. "The close-knit community and inspiring Malibu setting make it the perfect place to excel athletically, intellectually and personally."
Grechkina, Scilipoti and the Waves will begin the spring season at Duke on Jan. 17. Pepperdine's home opener will be against Arizona for the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. All pertinent information can be found on the Pepperdine women's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
