The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women’s Tennis signs prep standout Ashton Bowers
02.29.2024 | Women's Tennis
Ashton Bowers, a native of Alpharetta, Ga., who is one of the top juniors players in the world and a top-12 recruit nationally, will join the Longhorns’ roster in the fall of 2024.
Austin – University of Texas Women's Tennis has signed prep standout Ashton Bowers to a National Letter of Intent (NLI) and Athletic Scholarship Agreement (ASA), head coach Howard Joffe announced Thursday.
Bowers will enroll and join the program in the fall of 2024. She becomes part of a recruiting class that was already ranked No. 1 nation by TennisRecruiting.net and includes fellow signees Maya Joint and Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo.
"We are very fortunate to sign one of the world's best junior players in Ashton Bowers," Joffe said. "Ashton's inclusion in our program will bolster our ability to contend for titles right away. Not only is she a gifted top-level player, but she is also a top student who is resourced in all the right ways to make a big impact on the 40 Acres.
"I intend to work diligently with Ashton to make sure she becomes the tennis champion she is aiming to be. I'm so grateful to her, her mom and dad and her family for giving us her ear and trusting our program with her continued success."
"I couldn't be more excited to join such an elite program both on and off the court," Bowers said. "I'm so grateful that Coach Joffe and Coach Butsch gave me this opportunity to continue my journey and help the program keep making history at Texas. I can't wait to be a Longhorn."
Originally a native of Bloomington, Ill., who moved to Alpharetta, Ga., prior to high school, Bowers is one of the top juniors players in the world with a career high ranking of No. 43, while she is also currently ranked career highs of No. 921 in singles and No. 876 in doubles by the WTA. She is rated as a Blue Chip recruit by TennisRecruiting.net, which currently has her listed as No. 12 nationally and No. 1 in the state of Georgia, while she has been rated as high as No. 9 nationally in November.
Earlier this year, Bowers reached both the singles and doubles semifinals of the W35 Petit-Bourg in France, along with the doubles final of the W15 Fort-de-France. In 2023, Bowers participated in the singles Round of 64 and doubles Round of 32 at the Junior Australian Open and picked up her first WTA points after making it to the singles final at the W15 Norman in Oklahoma.
Bowers has won four ITF juniors singles titles in her career, including the J2 La Paz and J2 Cochabamba in Bolivia in 2022, as well as the J4 Leon and J5 Cancun in Mexico in 2021. She also won the doubles title at the J2 La Paz in 2022, which is one of three doubles crowns she has claimed, along with the J4 Guatemala City in 2021, and the J5 Christiansted in the Virgin Islands with Joint in 2019. Bowers and Joint have known each other since the age of 10 and played in numerous juniors tournaments together.
Bowers attended the Greater Atlanta Christian School and plans to major in finance. Her brother, Tyler, plays collegiate tennis at the University of Illinois.
