MALIBU, Calif - Pepperdine women's tennis sees four athletes ranked within the top-100 in the ITA preseason rankings announced today.

Sophomore Anastasiia Grechkina was tabbed at No. 37, freshman Sonja Zhiyenbayeva debuted at No. 86, freshman Živa Falkner came in at No. 89 and sophomore Alexia Harmon rounded out the Waves at No. 97.

In addition, Zhiyenbayeva was slated at No. 5 in the preseason newcomer rankings with Falkner coming in at No. 8 as Pepperdine was one of two programs to have a pair of newcomers in the top-10.

Grechkina and Harmon were also selected as the No. 21 doubles team following their strong freshman campaign as a pair in 2024-25.

Pepperdine is one of ten programs to land at least four athletes in the top-100 singles rankings and are the only non-power four conference to boast this achievement.

Grechkina, a native of Moscow, Russia, tabbed All-WCC First Team recognition in both singles and doubles this spring as she closed out her freshman season with a 16-7 singles mark and 15-9 doubles record. Playing at the No. 2 position down the stretch for the Waves, she collected victories in both the WCC Championship against San Diego and in the NCAA Tournament victory over Wake Forest. 

Zhiyenbayeva, a native of Almaty, Kazakhstan, comes in with career-high WTA rankings of 630 in singles ad 754 in doubles from her time overseas. She won a pair of ITF singles titles this past year in the W15 Antalya and W15 Madrid while reaching three finals total. Zhiyenbayeva's junior career saw her rank as high as No. 15 in the ITF world junior rankings as she has totaled seven junior singles titles and 10 doubles titles.

Falkner, a native of Novo Mesto, Slovenia, joins the Waves having career-high WTA rankings of 397 in singles and 213 doubles following a decorated career overseas. Falkner won multiple ITF titles this past year including the singles title at the W15 Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina along with four doubles titles at the W35 Torino, W50 Zagreb, W75 Sibenik and W15 Monastir.

Harmon, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., collected WCC Co-Freshmen of the Year recognition this past spring to go along with All-WCC Second Team honors in singles and All-WCC First Team laurels in doubles. Her 27-8 singles record on the season led the team as she picked up three wins over ranked opponents and picked up pivotal victories to propel the Waves to the WCC Championship over San Diego and in the NCAA Tournament over Wake Forest.

For the full ITA preseason rankings, click here.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S TENNIS
Pepperdine women's tennis has been a consistent powerhouse in the collegiate scene, reaching 40 NCAA Tournaments since 1982 including 28 straight appearances. Since 2018, the program has seen three national runner-ups between both singles and doubles while reaching an NCAA Regional as a team eight times in the past nine tournaments. The success at the conference level has been paramount with 33 WCC Championships including an active streak of 11 consecutive conference titles. With its 24 total All-Americans, the program has also consistently sent players to the pro circuit following their time in Malibu.
 
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