Head Coach
Per Nilsson announced hiring Axel Damiens as UF's newest Associate Head Coach in May of 2025. Damiens joined the Gators from the University of South Carolina, where he served as the Associate Head Coach for the Gamecocks in the 204-25 season. Damiens was originally hired South Carolina in July of 2022 as an assistant coach. While at South Carolina, Damiens helped the Gamecocks to three winning seasons and three consecutive NCAA postseason appearances.
Before his time at South Carolina, Damiens served as Assistant Coach for the University of Pennsylvania women's tennis team in spring 2022. During his time in Philadelphia, he helped lead the Quakers to a 15-9 record, including a 5-2 Ivy League finish that featured a four-match win streak in conference play.
His coaching journey has also included roles at Florida State as a graduate assistant, where he contributed to bringing in a top-ranked recruiting class and coached the highest UTR-ranked player in college tennis at the time.
Damiens also spent time as a volunteer assistant coach with the Princeton men's tennis program in 2019-20. The Tigers compiled a 14-4 record that season, highlighted by wins over Auburn, Arizona, and Penn before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A former standout student-athlete himself, Damiens competed for Cal Poly from 2014–18 and served as a student assistant coach during the 2018–19 season. He recorded 50 career singles wins—one of just five Mustangs to reach that milestone—and earned All-Big West Doubles First Team honors as a senior. His leadership helped propel Cal Poly to as high as No. 33 in the ITA national rankings.
Originally from Feucherolles, France, Damiens also has professional playing experience on the ITF circuit and in France's pro league.
