OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss head women’s tennis coach Mark Beyers has announced that Grant Roberts has been promoted to associate head coach. Roberts joined the Rebel tennis program in the spring of 2018.

“From the day Grant stepped on campus here as an assistant coach in 2018, he has made a tremendous impact on this program and our players,” Beyers said. “His knowledge of the game is second to none and his ability to relay that knowledge to the different players in a way that serves each of them best is incredible. Over the years, Grant has turned into one of the premier coaches in college tennis, and feel this is the perfect time for him to take on a bigger role as the Associate Head coach here at Ole Miss.”

During Roberts tenure at Ole Miss, the Rebels have posted an overall record of 67-45 in the last four seasons. Roberts has helped coach athletes to ITA Southern Regionals and NCAA Championships.

In his first season, Roberts assisted Beyers in leading the Rebels to their first 20-win season (22-7) since 1999, the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, the most wins in SEC play (9-4), their best finish in the SEC (5th) since 2012 and a final ranking of No. 8, the highest since 1999. Roberts was on senior Arianne Hartono’s court when she made a historic run to the NCAA Singles Championship, becoming the first NCAA Champion in program history.

In his second season in 2019, Roberts helped guide senior Tea Jandric to the ITA Southern Region Most Improved Senior and All-SEC Second Team honors. The women ended their season with a huge upset, taking down No. 16 Texas A&M 4-2 on Senior Day.

In the shortened 2020 season, the Rebels competed in 14 matches, earning a 9-5 overall record (1-3 SEC). Most notably, the team defeated No. 14 UCF on the road 4-3. At home, the team compiled a 7-3 record, including a 4-1 victory over Roberts’ alma mater, Kentucky. During Roberts’ first three seasons, the Rebels won over two-thirds of all home matches (23-11, .677).

The Rebels reached the first round of the NCAA Team Championships in 2021. Roberts also assisted in coaching Sabina Machalova to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Singles Championships. Ole Miss reached as high as No. 19 in the Oracle/ITA national team rankings. During the season, the Rebels earned four sweeps versus SEC opponents, including three against top-25 teams (No. 18 Auburn, No. 19 LSU and No. 21 Vanderbilt).

During the 2022 season, the Rebels posted a 13-11 overall record. Roberts assisted in coaching Machalova to the NCAA Singles Championships for the second consecutive season in a row.

Before coming to Oxford, Roberts was serving as the women’s assistant coach at Colorado. Prior to that, he was a volunteer assistant coach for the men’s team at Kentucky for three years.

He helped the Wildcats reach the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in 2014, where the team finished 13th overall in the country.

Roberts was a standout player at Kentucky from 2009-2013. Despite battling injuries, he helped lead the Wildcats to the 2012 SEC Championship and the NCAA Sweet 16 three times, including the quarterfinals in 2010. Roberts is Kentucky’s all-time leader in matches clinched.

For more information on Ole Miss Women’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis. Also follow Coach Beyers on Twitter, @MarkBeyers.