Rikus de Villiers

Biography

Rikus de Villiers embarks on his 13th season on the UCLA men’s tennis coaching staff, and sixth as associate head coach, in 2025-26. He served in the role of volunteer assistant coach for five of the six seasons prior to his promotion by head coach Billy Martin in June 2018. A native of Durban, South Africa, de Villiers came to UCLA in the fall of 2012 and immediately aided the Bruins in their run to the final round of the NCAA Championships the following spring. Over the course of his first five seasons on staff, UCLA registered an overall record of 124-25 (.832) and dropped just three regular-season Pac-12 matches (32-3). The 2014, 2016 and 2018 Bruins also secured Pac-12 tournament titles during de Villiers' time as a volunteer. He coached American Ryan Harrison on the ATP World Tour during his time away from the program in 2015-16. UCLA had a memorable first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference, winning 17 of its final 20 matches in 2024-25. The Bruins seized the Big Ten Conference Tournament title, beating host and top-seeded Ohio State in a 4-3 thriller that snapped the Buckeyes’ 76-match home winning streak. Unseeded UCLA ultimately reached the NCAA Championships quarterfinal round, beating crosstown rival USC at Los Angeles Tennis Center (LATC) to get there. In the 2019 dual-match season, de Villiers helped the program to its fourth regular-season Pac-12 title in a row. UCLA went 8-0 in conference play, stretching its winning streak in league regular-season ma