A year ago, Florida women’s tennis player Lucie Pawlak never imagined she’d win a professional doubles title alongside teammate Nikola Daubnerova.
“She’s scary, right?” Pawlak said of Daubnerova in April. “During the whole fall I was scared of her.”
Fast forward three months, and that fear has dissipated. The pair won back-to-back ITF W15 doubles titles in Monastir, Tunisia, a success Pawlak said wasn't possible without the connection they built.
Daubnerova and Pawlak didn't originally plan to compete together. But with Monastir hosting one of the few clay tournaments on the summer schedule, the Gators unexpectedly crossed paths more than 5,000 miles from Gainesville.
“When I was looking at the list of all the players, I saw Nikki,” Pawlak said. “I was so shocked.”
She was even more surprised when Daubnerova asked her to play doubles together. The Montpellier native said her answer was an immediate “yes,” but she still had to get over her slight fear of Daubnerova.
“I’ve always been scared of Nikki,” Pawlak said. “She has muscle everywhere.”
After spending a week alone with Daubnerova before fellow Florida player Gabia Paskauskas arrived in Tunisia for the singles tournament, Pawlak quickly realized she had nothing to fear.
“We definitely got closer,” Daubnerova said. “I’ve been the same, but I think it's genuinely because we got to know each other better.”
The French-Slovakian duo quickly found chemistry on the court. They cruised through the first Monastir tournament, finishing the week with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Natalia Sousa Salazar and Maria Andrienko to claim the doubles title.
“We make a pretty good team in doubles,” Pawlak said, “because I play with my forehand, and she plays with her right hand."
Their complementary playing style carried into another successful week in Monastir. Pawlak and Daubnerova proved their first title wasn't just luck.
The Gators swept through three dominant matches to defeat 24-year-old Matilde Mariani and 30-year-old Francesca Dell’Edera 6-1, 6-3 in the Monastir 25 final to secure a second consecutive doubles trophy.
Being teammates at Florida, Daubnerova said, made all the difference in finding success at the summer tournament.
“We’ve been around what the coaches teach us about doubles,” Daubnerova said, “and I wouldn't be saying some stuff I’ve said to Lu to a girl I've never played with.”
Pawlak attributed much of her success in Tunisia to the support from her Florida teammates and coaches. After a year of collegiate tennis, the rising sophomore said she struggled to find adrenaline in professional tournaments.
“I was like, ‘Where is Axel? Where is Per?’” Pawlak said. “‘I can’t play without you.’”
After speaking with Florida head coach Per Nilsson and associate head coach Axel Damiens, Pawlak said they reminded her it takes time to adjust to professional tennis.
That ounce of motivation fueled her in the singles competition.
Pawlak reached the final and won her first professional singles title after taking the first set, 6-3, before Mariani retired at 1-0 in the second set.
“I’m not sure if I could've gone in Monastir alone,” Pawlak said. “It was super exciting to be with Nikki and Gabs for two weeks.”
Florida’s impact in Tunisia extended beyond the motivation and camaraderie. Pawlak and Daubnerova wore the orange Gators’ uniform during the doubles final.
“Everyone was like ‘Oh, you're with the Gators,’” Pawlak said. “We were really proud.”
The success in Monastir could also influence Florida’s doubles lineup next season. With Xinyi Nong, Daubnerova’s former doubles partner, and India Houghton, Pawlak’s former partner, both graduating in 2026, Florida’s doubles lineup remains undecided.
Daubnerova said the summer victories with Pawlak make a good start to a possible new doubles pairing.
“This gives us something we can build off of in the fall,” Daubnerova said. “But I think the mentality is that you always have to be ready to play with whoever.”
Pawlak similarly hopes she and Daubnerova have the opportunity to continue building the on-court chemistry they found in Monastir.
“I think it's a good thing that we won two 15k doubles together,” Pawlak said. “The coaches can see that we can be good together.”
Going into the fall season, Nilsson said he and Axel have been strategizing who they’ll pair together in doubles. The months before the spring season serve to test teams out, he said.
“It does help when these guys end up playing together during the summer,” Nilsson said. “It gives you options.”
Even if Pawlak and Daubnerova don’t continue their doubles partnership, the experience in Monastir changed Pawlak’s perspective.
“I’m not so scared of her anymore,” Pawlak said. “After one year of being together, I’m getting there.”
Contact Sofia Alamo at salamo@alligator.org. Follow her on X @alamosofiaa.
Sofia Alamo is a Sports Journalism freshman at UF and the university’s Women’s Tennis beat reporter. Her favorite sports are soccer and tennis, and she aspires to be a sports broadcaster in the future.
