ROSEMONT, Ill. – Purdue junior Nour Fathalla has been named Player of the Week and teammate Lorenzo Balducci chosen as Freshman of the Week by the Big Ten Conference for matches played Oct. 7-12.
 
Player of the Week
Nour Fathalla, Purdue 
Jr. – Alexandria, Egypt

• Earned just the third NCAA Singles Championship berth for a Purdue player this century (and the first since 2016)
• Compiled a 7-1 overall record at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships, held Oct. 8-12 in College Grove, Tenn.
• Went 5-0 in singles, winning .709 precent of his games (61-25), to reach the tournament final which was not played; defeated three opponents with sub-7 world tennis numbers
• Advanced to the quarterfinals in doubles
• First Boilermaker to be named player of the week since Henrik Villanger (Feb. 26, 2025)

Freshman of the Week
Lorenzo Balducci, Purdue
Fr. – Monsummano, Italy

• Won four singles matches at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships before losing to a teammate in the semifinals
• Recorded two wins against ranked opponents, including a three-setter against 55^th-ranked Sam Landau of rival Indiana
• Extended singles win streak to seven matches prior to suffering his first collegiate loss
• Teamed with Nour Fathalla for a pair of doubles wins to reach the quarterfinals
• Becomes Purdue’s first-ever freshman of the week recipient in men’s tennis

 
2026-27 Big Ten Men’s Tennis Weekly Awards
Sept. 23       
P: Jeremy Zhang, Sr., ILL
F: Denis Petak, Fr., OSU

Sept. 30       
P: Nikita Filin, Jr., OSU
F: Ilija Palavestra, R-Fr., OSU

Oct. 7
P: Emil Matikainen, So., PSU
F: Gustavo Albieri, Fr., MICH

Oct. 14         
P: Nour Fathalla, Jr., PUR
F: Lorenzo Balducci, Fr., PUR