Meet Alicia Dudeney – Pav’s Latest Rising Tennis Star!
You’ve all heard of Sonay Kartal but she’s not the only Pav member making waves on the tennis circuit!
We were very lucky to catch Alicia Dudeney in a quiet moment between tournaments to find out what she’s been up to.
Read on to hear Alicia’s story!
Q: How old were you and where did you first start playing tennis?
AD: I first came to Pav when I was 7 years old for a group red ball session. I’ve not looked back since! I trained with a great group of players from the start. Working with Ben and Martin as well as everyone else at Pav was amazing!
Q: You’ve recently finished university. Tell us more about that!
AD: I spent the last 4 years at University of Florida where I studied for a business degree while competing for the college tennis team. I’ve had the best time but I’ve loved coming back to Pav in the holidays. It feels like I never left!
Q: What would you say to someone interested in doing College Tennis?
AD: I would definitely recommend it. You get access to world-class resources and it helps you grow a lot as a person in all areas of your life. It’s unique!
Q: You graduated in May 2025. What happened then?
AD: I went straight into competing, travelling to Tunisia at the end of May for the W35 Monastir where I reached the singles final and won my first professional doubles title!
Q: Congratulations! That must have been a massive boost!
AD: It was great as it helped me get back into the swing of professional tournaments and proved that I can compete at that level.
Q: Was it difficult to transition to professional tournaments?
AD: My first few months were a big learning curve. These tournaments are very different to the college format and getting used to travelling alone has been an adjustment, but I think throwing myself straight into competing has been the best way to learn!
Q: Tell us how many titles you’ve won since May!
AD: I’ve won 3 singles titles and 6 doubles titles!
Winning the W35 in Roehampton was really special as it was my first singles title and I had to beat a lot of strong players!
My favourite doubles title was the W50 in Trnava [Slovakia] in November 2025. It was the biggest doubles title so far and I got to play with my friend Elena [Malygina] who I really enjoy playing with!
Q: That’s a very strong start! What’s in store for 2026
AD: I started the year at the W50 in Manchester, where I won the doubles title with Elena again and then made the doubles final of the W50 in Monastir the week after!
I’m hoping to get my ranking as high as possible this year [March 26: Singles 439/Doubles 226] so I can be playing grand slam qualifiers. I also want to win even more singles and doubles titles this year!
Thank you Alicia for taking the time to speak with us. It’s incredible how much you’ve achieved in such a short space of time.
Everyone at Pav & Ave is rooting for you! Good luck and we hope you’ll be able to update us again later this year.