DURHAM, N.C. – Siblings Alejandra Hidalgo Vega and Hugo Hidalgo Vega of North Carolina Central are double trouble for opponents on the tennis court.
Both are talented players on their respective men's and women's teams. The tennis standouts are All-MEAC players and Hugo was the conference men's player of the year last season. They have led their squadsto the finals of the 2025 MEAC Championship held in Cary, N.C.
It is not uncommon to have two talented siblings in tennis. The tandem of iconic stars Venus and Serena Williams immediately comes to mind as well as John and Patrick McEnroe. Bob and Mike Bryan are the top-ranked men's doubles team in tennis history.
But it is rare for siblings to play tennis at North Carolina Central at the same time.
"Trey and Cameron Chatman were a brother-sister duo back in the early 2000s," said D. Curtis Lawson, the NCCU Director of Tennis and veteran Men's Head Tennis Coach. "Trey played No. 1 for me and Cameron played No. 1 for our women's team who was coached by David Nass. In fact, Cameron was our first women's player in school history to win the HBCU National Singles Title."
Like the prior siblings, the Hidalgo Vegas have made names for themselves. Both play No. 1 singles on their respective men's and women's teams. They helped the Eagles bounce back from less-than-stellar seasons a year ago to earn the MEAC Tournament's No. 2 seed in the men's and women's divisions. Both teams lost only one conference match during the regular season.
Hugo made history in February, becoming the first Eagle in the NCAA Division I era to earn a national tennis ranking. He entered the rankings after defeating Pedro Rodenas of Duke, who was ranked 38that the time.
"Their personalities are polar opposites off the court," Coach Lawson said. "Hugo is reserved and easygoing while Ale is a social butterfly but both are fierce competitors on the tennis courts."
Their story starts in the hometown of Madrid, Spain. They were tennis prodigies, trained by their father Raul and uncle since they were old enough to pick up a racquet. From eight-years-old to the time they turned 18, both Alejandra and Hugo won enough trophies to clutter their house. There were so many awards – their father Raul was a former tennis pro – that there was little room left to display them inside.
"My mom wants to take them out because they take up space," Alejandra said. "Or keep the best ones."
Their childhoods were spent playing tennis and winning titles. Both were considered among the best teenage players in Madrid, a tennis city.
Once they got older, the siblings ventured overseas for a college education and the opportunity to play tennis.
"Spain schools don't compete against each other in sports," said Hugo, a two-time first team All-MEAC player. "They focus on studies. Players who play high level tennis come to the U.S. to study and continue playing in tennis tournaments or finish their tennis careers and work."
Hugo, who is a year older, left home first. He chose Chicago State while Alejandra had one year remaining in high school.
The following year, Alejandra picked North Carolina Central, mainly because of NCCU Head Women's Coach Sofia Rachi Cucalon, then an assistant at the time. But after one year apart, the Hidalgo Vegas were back together again.
"When I was in Chicago, my sister was here (NCCU) for one whole year, and she was very happy with the experience with teammates and coaches," said Hugo, who was the first player in Chicago State history to win a main draw match at the ITA Regional Championships. "I was happy at Chicago State because my tennis was very good but it was some things I did not like. My sister told me about Central and I made the decision to come here."
Once Hugo arrived, it was like old times on the tennis court for the Hidalgo Vegas. This year, Alejandra was 14-5 in singles play and 12-7 in doubles play while Hugo was 13-4 in singles and 11-4 in doubles entering Saturday's women's and men's title matches against South Carolina State on Saturday, April 26. Both players were named first team MEAC All-Conference on the eve of the conference tournament.
Alejandra flourished at NCCU while Hugo was at Chicago State for two seasons. She was the 2023 MEAC Rookie of the Year, the NCCU women's newcomer of the year and team MVP.
"That made me feel very lucky because I didn't even know that I could win all of that," said Alejandra, a three-time first-team All-MEAC selection.
Still, Alejandra was overjoyed when her brother transferred to NCCU for the 2023-24 season.
"When I was thinking that he could transfer here, I imagined that he could watch my matches and support," Alejandra said. "In Chicago, I knew he was having good matches, so I was excited to be able to watch his tennis matches. It is nice that he can watch me because he understands the emotional part of me. He is very calm so if I'm nervous he can calm me down."
"Being ranked [at NCCU] is something very big, something that no one would imagine," Alejandra added. "He could have been at any university he wanted but maybe he decided to come here and be with me."
Their bond was evident during a heated tennis match involving Hugo. The dispute was whether the ball was inside the line or out.
"When the other guy tried to go to the bathroom during a break, I tried not to let him pass to annoy him," said Alejandra, laughing. "After the match, I asked him something like do you need my glasses? He said what? I said do you need my glasses because you don't see well."
As close as they are on the court, their relationship is different off it. Now older, they spend more time hanging out and studying with their own set of friends and teammates.
But there is a comfort level knowing the other sibling is close by.
"We lived in the same house so many years," Alejandra said. "Our rooms were next to each other. We do a lot of things together but when we focus on tennis or school, we are not meeting each other because our schedule hours are so different. Maybe if you are twins, you have that. But for brother and sister, it is more like you know you have each other. We do not eat breakfast together, but if he is already [in the cafeteria] then it is so cool because we get to talk about everything."
"If I have a problem, I don't really like to tell him about it," she added. "But if I see him and talk to him for a while, he is going to make me feel better even though he doesn't know it."
The coaching staff and teammates will miss the siblings once they exhaust their eligibility. Hugo is a senior but Alejandra, a junior, has one more year with the Eagles.
"Alejandra and Hugo are two of the most coachable student-athletes I've ever had the pleasure of knowing and working with," Coach Rachi Cucalon said. "Speaking specifically about Alejandra - she's an incredibly talented young woman, and a major factor in her success on the court is her coachability. She listens attentively, adapts quickly, and adjusts her game based on her opponents with impressive precision. Her ability to take in feedback and implement it effectively sets her apart. Alejandra is not only a standout player, but also an exceptional captain and teammate. We're truly fortunate to have her on our team."
"It has been a sheer delight to coach Hugo and I'm sure that Coach Sofia shares my sentiments with respect to Alejandra," Coach Lawson added. "It's also fair to say that both have blossomed during their careers at NCCU and our program has only gotten better with the addition of Hugo and Alejandra. Both have achieved some significant milestones with Hugo's national ranking earlier this year shining new light on our program."
During Senior Day, Alejandra wore a big smile as she videoed Hugo on a cell phone during the pre-match ceremony. Next season will not be the same without Hugo but Alejandra realizes they will live their own separate lives eventually, likely in different countries, after she gets her degree next year.
However, both will leave NCCU knowing they accomplished their goals of playing tennis and graduating. More importantly, they made their family happy back home.
"My parents were like train, train, train, train, train when we were little," Alejandra said. "We would be like, oh, my god, it is always the same thing, tennis, tennis, tennis but at the end of the day, it was worth it. So, when you look back, you like that you made your parents proud."
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
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