Aristotelis Thanos Earns Men’s Tennis Big Ten Player of the Week Honors

Photo by: Kelly Branigan

Aristotelis Thanos Earns Men’s Tennis Big Ten Player of the Week Honors

4/1/2026 4:03:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Redshirt senior clinches victories in back-to-back wins over No. 25 USC and No. 18 UCLA

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Redshirt senior Aristotelis Thanos has earned Big Ten Men's Tennis Co-Player of the Week honors, announced Wednesday afternoon by the conference office.

Thanos, a redshirt-senior from Athens, Greece, garnered Player of the Week accolades for the second time in his career, recognized this week after helping Michigan State earn a pair of upset-wins over the weekend, clinching the win in both matches, as MSU knocked off both No. 24 USC and No. 20 UCLA.

After being down in the first set against USC's Branki Djuruc on Friday night in the No. 1 singles match, Thanos fought back to claim a 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) victory. Thanos saved three team match points against USC.

In the first outdoor match of the season at the Spartan Tennis Outdoor Courts, Thanos went undefeated in both doubles and singles. In doubles on the No. 2 court, he and sophomore partner Mitchell Sheldon took down UCLA's Andy Nguyen and Aadarsh Tripathi 7-6 (7-4). In singles, Thanos earned yet another comeback victory on the No. 1 court, taking down UCLA's Spencer John 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, with the result, clinching the Victory for MSU over the Bruins.

The last time Thanos won the Big Ten honors was on Jan. 22, 2025.

MSU has won eight consecutive matches and is the only unbeaten team at the top of the B1G standings, currently with an 8-0 record. With the two upset wins over USC and UCLA, MSU has now posted four Top 25 wins in its last five matches.

Thanos is nationally ranked in both doubles and singles play. In doubles, he is ranked No. 54 with partner Sheldon, and in singles, he has climbed the rankings to No. 33.

Holding steady at the No. 1 singles slot, Thanos has continued to deliver in high-pressure moments.

Thanos and the Spartans are on a tour of the Pacific Northwest this weekend, playing at Washington on Friday, April 3, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. MSU then plays at No. 53 Oregon on Sunday, April 5, at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT.

Fans can follow this weekend's action with "Watch Live" and "Live Results" links at MSUSpartans.com where available, or by keeping up with the Spartan men's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_MTennis.