Alafia Ayeni
Alafia Ayeni is an American tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of No. 395 achieved on 12 June 2023, and a doubles ranking of No. 298 achieved on 29 December 2025.
Raised in San Diego, California, he is the son of Anthony Ayeni and Pamela Hinkson Ayeni, and he has one brother and one sister. He attended Westview High School, prior to attending Cornell University. He then transferred to the University of Kentucky, where he won all-American honours in June 2023.
Career
Junior career
Ayeni won the Easter Bowl USTA Junior Spring Nationals played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, in April 2017. He beat Sebastian Korda, 6-4, 0-6, 7-5, to win the final.
Professional career
Playing alongside compatriot Daniel Milavsky, Ayeni won his first title on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning the men's doubles at the 2025 Challenger Temuco in Chile in November 2025, where they beat Juan Carlos Aguilar and Federico Zeballos on a match tie-break. He also defeated the top seed Juan Manuel Cerúndolo to reach the semi-finals of the men's singles at the tournament.
Personal life
The son of a Pamela and Anthony, his mother is a software engineer. He is of Nigerian descent; his father is from Nigeria and moved to the United States at the age of 17 and works as a lawyer. Ayeni taught himself to play piano. In 2022, Ayeni launched his own brand Team 3x, designed to help empower minorities overcome structural barriers and social stigmas in sport. Profits from his clothing line is used to assist junior tennis players in southern California.