Women’s tennis signs Bowers, Khairutdinova, Kruger

Women’s tennis signs Bowers, Khairutdinova, KrugerWomen’s tennis signs Bowers, Khairutdinova, Kruger
David Gray/Auburn Tigers

AUBURN, Ala. – Ashton Bowers, Ekaterina Khairutdinova (HIGH-ru-dee-KNOW-vuh) and Isabella Kruger will each join Auburn women’s tennis for the 2025–26 season, head coach Jordan Szabo announced Tuesday.

“We are excited to announce the signing of Ashton, Ekaterina and Isabella,” Szabo said. “All three have had great success both domestically and internationally and will help us reach our team goals moving forward. We look forward to helping them achieve their personal goals, and we appreciate them and their families for trusting our coaching and support staff to help make those goals a reality.”

Bowers joins the Tigers after spending her freshman season at Texas, where she was named to the 2025 SEC All-Freshman Team. The Alpharetta, Georgia, native qualified for the 2024–25 NCAA Singles Championship through the ITA Texas Regional Championship and finished the season with an 18-5 overall singles record. She also posted an 18-13 overall doubles record and played regularly at the top of the Longhorns’ doubles lineup in dual matches.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join such a special team and environment of people who enjoy pushing each other to their limits,” Bowers said. “I want to help make history at Auburn and be as much of a positive influence on my teammates as I can.”

As a junior player, Bowers reached as high as No. 2 in the national recruiting rankings and was the top-ranked recruit in Georgia, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network. A blue-chip prospect, she achieved a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 43 and competed in the 2023 Junior Australian Open. She has four ITF junior singles titles to her name, winning at J2 La Paz and J2 Cochabamba in 2022, as well as J4 Leon and J5 Cancun in 2021. Her brother, Tyler, plays for the Illinois men’s tennis team.

Khairutdinova comes to the Plains after three standout seasons at Florida International. At FIU, she was named Conference USA Player of the Year in both 2024 and 2025, earned singles first-team all-conference honors in 2024 and 2025, and was named to the doubles first team in 2023 and 2025. This season, Khairutdinova won the ITA Southeast Regional Singles Championship and led the Panthers with a 21-6 overall singles record, including a 13-2 mark exclusively at the No. 1 position in dual matches. She also went 19-8 in doubles and 13-7 in dual matches between the top two doubles positions.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue my college journey at Auburn,” Khairutdinova said about making the move to Auburn. “I believe that Coach Szabo is building a special team with great girls and I’m excited to be part of this special program as well as continuing to improve under Coach Szabo and his staff.”

Prior to college, Khairutdinova reached as high as No. 36 in the ITF World Junior Rankings. She competed in the junior Australian Open, French Open and U.S. Open, reaching the third round in singles at both the Australian and U.S. Opens.

Kruger will arrive at Auburn as a true freshman for the 2025–26 season from Pretoria, South Africa. She holds a career-high WTA ranking of No. 330 and reached the singles quarterfinals at junior Wimbledon in 2022. Kruger has also represented South Africa in the Billie Jean King Cup in both 2023 and 2024.

“I am so grateful and excited to be joining the Auburn Family and competing alongside all of the girls on the team,” Kruger said about joining the Tigers. “I’m confident in the vision that Coach Szabo has created there and that it will help me grow as a player and as a person. The campus and community are amazing, and I know that I will thrive in the environment.”

Kruger comes from an athletic family — her father, Ruben, was a member of the 1995 Rugby World Cup–winning team for South Africa, and her sister, Zoë, plays professional tennis.