Nika Kukharchuk was named Head Men’s Tennis Coach at Fordham University in July of 2026.
Kukharchuk arrives at Fordham after a standout year as an Assistant Women’s Tennis Coach at Princeton University (2025-2026), where she helped engineer a dramatic turnaround in a single season — leading the Tigers to a share of the 2026 Ivy League Championship, an 18-3 overall record, and a top-40 year-end national ranking, while earning the No. 1 Northeast regional ranking. Her player development produced an NCAA Individual Championship qualifier, multiple All-Ivy honorees, and an ITA Most Improved Player in the Northeast Region.
Prior to Princeton, Kukharchuk spent three seasons (2022-2025) as an Assistant Women’s Tennis Coach at Columbia University, where the Lions captured the 2024 ECAC Championship and reached a top-45 national year-end ranking. Kukharchuk’s player development helped produce an Ivy League Player of the Year and a Northeast Rookie of the Year, as well as multiple All-Ivy players. At Columbia, Kukharchuk organized student-athlete participation in the ITF World Tennis Tour events in the fall seasons of 2023 and 2024, while personally coaching players in competition. Kukharchuk also helped assemble back-to-back top-20 recruiting classes in the country (No. 6 in 2024, No. 17 in 2025).
Prior to joining Columbia, Kukharchuk served as the primary travel coach for an elite junior player who, under her direction, rose to a top-25 ITF Junior world ranking, gained entry into junior Grand Slams—including reaching the doubles quarterfinals at Roland Garros—and won multiple events.
A standout player in her own right, Nika Kukharchuk competed professionally for 12 years (2008-2020), winning seven professional titles and reaching career-high world rankings of No. 371 in singles and No. 350 in doubles. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, she was selected as an Official Hitting Partner at the US Open, practicing with WTA and ATP professional players.
Kukharchuk is a Senior Tennis Professional at Grand Slam Tennis Club in Bedford, N.Y., where she has coached since 2013. Prior to Grand Slam, she served as tennis professional and travel coach at Hardscrabble Club in Brewster, N.Y., from 2008-2013.
Kukharchuk (née Koukhartchouk) was a standout student-athlete at The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where she captained the team her senior year, played No. 1 singles and doubles, and helped the Rebels win the 2005 SEC Western Division Championship. She reached career-high rankings of No. 59 in singles and No. 26 in doubles, qualified for the 2008 NCAA Individual Championship in doubles, and earned her BA in finance, cum laude, and completed her MBA—all within four years.
Prior to attending Ole Miss, Kukharchuk was ranked No. 3 nationally in 16-and-under division in Russia, where she was born.
Kukharchuk resides in Westchester County, NY with her family.
