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Liv Hovde delivered an early Christmas present to Duke women’s tennis.

The program announced on December 23rd that the 2022 Wimbledon girls singles champion had signed with the Blue Devils to join them for the spring of 2025.

Liv Hovde Captured the 2022 Wimbledon Girls Singles Title
© Daniel Kopatsch/Wimbledon

A native of Minnesota who now resides in Texas, Hovde is a former No. 1 recruit nationally. The 19-year-old reached a career-high No. 3 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings before deciding to turn pro in 2022 and sign with GSE Worldwide.

Hovde climbed to No. 245 in singles and No. 354 in doubles on the WTA Tour while capturing seven pro titles.

Before signing with Duke, Hovde negotiated a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with the school’s collective, Durham Devils Club.

Darren Heitner served as Hovde’s legal counsel. He reviewed Hovde’s existing deal with her agency, GSE, and handled the legal side of the negotiations on her NIL package with Duke’s collective.

“I can't give you specifics with respect to compensation because there is a strict confidentiality provision,” Heitner said. “But I can confirm that the arrangement is with Duke's collective, and I can just say they were a pleasure to work with, alongside the university, to answer any questions that we had related to her eligibility and how that plays a role in the negotiations.”