Another quiet year came and went for Florida tennis under Adam Steinberg in his second year as Florida head coach. The Gators’ 15-12 record in 2024-25 failed to produce a convincing postseason push and left question marks for the coming season.
Looking to make moves and fill the departure of senior JanMagnus Johnson, Florida acquired two new players in the transfer portal. UF signed rising senior Pablo Perez Ramos and incoming freshman Andreas Timini, signaling a strong intent to reload its roster with top-tier talent.
Originally from Canary Island, Spain, Perez Ramos joined Florida from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In his four seasons, the NJIT team captain posted an impressive 71-21 record, winning accolades such as NJIT Male Athlete of the Year, Southland Tournament MVP and joining the All-Tournament Team.
After falling to an injury in his first season, Perez Ramos returned to lead NJIT at the court one position with an 18-2 record in 2024 and 13-1 in 2025. The senior is no slouch in a pair either, going 13-2 in court one doubles matches in 2025.
Andreas Timini joins Florida as an 18-year-old looking to make his start in collegiate tennis as a freshman in the Southeastern Conference. Timini is a native of Cyprus who has gained a plethora of international professional experience prior to signing with the Gators.
The incoming freshman logged a 25-17 record in the ITF Junior Circuit and won six juniors singles titles. Timini won four international junior titles in 2022 before winning the J200 Hammamet and J200 Valencia in January and March of 2024, respectively.
Timini was ranked No. 1834 in 2020 and No. 974 in 2021. However, just days after his title win in Valencia (his second of the year), Timini received a career high ITF Junior Ranking of No. 41.
Along with his play in the junior circuit, the Cyprus native has also competed in three of the four major Grand Slam tennis tournaments to gain experience at the highest level of tennis: the US Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Tennisrecruiting.net reports Timini as having a 30-20 all-time record and 3-1 record against highly recruited Blue-Chip tennis players. In professional play, the ATP ranks Timini at No. 1286 in singles and No. 1126 in doubles, with a career high doubles ranking of No. 1113.
Additionally, Timini was selected to represent his country of Cyprus in the 2025 Davis Cup and compete against the top players from a slew of foreign countries. In January, Cyprus (the No. 69 ranked team) defeated the No. 66 ranked and No. 13-seeded Thailand in a lopsided 4-0 battle as Timini dominated his opponent 6-3, 6-3. Cyprus, now ranked No. 65, will now take on the No. 7 seed Monaco, in the World Group II competition in the 2025 Davis Cup in September.
As Florida looks to reestablish itself as a powerhouse at the top of the Southeastern Conference, all eyes will be on Perez Ramos and Timini to see how their experience translates to the intensity of SEC tennis.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.com and follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is the men's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. He enjoys spending his free time with pets, at the beach and fishing.
