IRVINE Calif.--University of Hawai'i men's tennis player Azuma Visaya earned the first Big West Player of the Week award for 2026. The senior from Honolulu, O'ahu recorded a 2-1 record on the No. 1 singles court while going 1-2 in #2 doubles.. It marks Visaya's fourth weekly conference honor of his career.

Visaya opened the season against 15th-ranked California by edging out Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski in a third-set super tie-breaker, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5). With the match tied at a set apiece and the team match already in hand, Visaya's jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the super tie-breaker and traded points down the stretch to win 10-5.

In UH's second match of the season, Visaya defeated Gonzaga's Giovanni Branchetti in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.

Against Washington, Visaya gave everything he had against 89th-ranked Soham Purohit. Visaya fell just short in a match decided by a pair of tie-breaker sets, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-2).

In doubles action, Visaya and partner Toa Maeda went 1-2 on the No. 2 court. The UH duo fell to Leonard Cattaneo and Lechno-Wasiutynski, 6-4. The Hawai'i pari bounced back to defeat Gonzaga's Nicholas Reeves and Oscar Rashed, 6-4. Visaya and Maeda finished their week falling to UW's Stephane Kamendje and Nikola Plavsic, 6-3.