Good as Goldstein: Stanford tabs alum as coach

Paul Goldstein helped Stanford win the NCAA
team title in all four years on the Farm.
Photos courtesy of Stanford University

   It's official.
   Paul Goldstein, a former Stanford star who reached the top 60 in the world in singles and doubles, was named the Cardinal men's coach on Tuesday. Terms were not disclosed.
   Goldstein succeeds John Whitlinger, who announced his retirement at age 60 on May 29 after Stanford's second consecutive first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament.
   Although Goldstein is Stanford's 10th men's tennis coach, he is only the third since 1967.
   Whitlinger went 160-85 (.653) in his 10-year stint, but the Cardinal never advanced past the NCAA quarterfinals. In contrast, Stanford won 17 NCAA team titles in 38 years under Whitlinger's predecessor, Dick Gould (776-148 overall, .840). The last one came in 2000.
   Stanford went 14-6 (5-2 in the Pacific-12 Conference) this season but finished No. 32 in the national rankings. The Cardinal was 5-6 against ranked teams and 9-0 against others.
   “I am humbled, honored, but most of all inspired by the opportunity to lead a program with such a strong intergenerational legacy of athletic and academic excellence,” Goldstein, a 37-year-old native of Washington,

PAUL GOLDSTEIN

D.C., said in a news release. “I have been a proud member

of the Stanford tennis family since I first arrived on campus in 1994 and am thrilled to be returning to the Farm. I look forward to working with our student-athletes and the broader Stanford community to drive success both on and off the court.”

   Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir said Goldstein “has enjoyed success at every level of his career, and his noticeable passion for our men’s tennis program makes him a great fit to be our next head coach. Paul’s infectious enthusiasm and ability to cultivate and sustain positive relationships stood out as dynamic qualities during the search process, which attracted both national and international candidates. Throughout the search, Paul’s name continued to rise above an extremely deep, talented and distinguished pool.”
    Goldstein has impeccable playing and leadership credentials, as well as outstanding character, but little coaching experience. He has worked part-time with juniors while serving in sales and business development roles for a clean energy company in the San Francisco Bay Area since retiring from pro tennis in 2008.
   Goldstein was ranked among the top 10 juniors in the world and became the first player to capture three consecutive boys national championships (16s in 1992, and 18s in 1993 and 1994) in Kalamazoo, Mich.
    He then became the first player in college tennis history to compete on four NCAA championship teams (1995-98), a feat also accomplished by USC's Steve Johnson (2009-12).
   An All-American for all four years, Goldstein reached the NCAA singles final as a senior before losing to teammate Bob Bryan.
   Goldstein was named All-Pac-10 three times and the Pac-10 Player of the Year as a senior. He ranks fifth in school history with 84 career dual-match singles victories.
   The first two-time recipient of the ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Sportsmanship and Leadership (1997 and 1998), Goldstein also earned the ITA's Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award in 1997.
   He was inducted in the ITA Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame last year.
   Goldstein attended high school and college with Chelsea Clinton, who's three years younger, and graduated from Stanford in 1998 in human biology.
   Only 5-foot-10 (1.77 meters) and 160 pounds (72.6 kilograms), Goldstein went on to an 11-year career as a pro player. He attained career highs of No. 58 in singles in 2006 and No. 40 in doubles in 2007. For much of his career, Goldstein was the highest-ranked singles player in the world with a college degree.
   Goldstein never won an ATP singles or doubles title but captured a record 30 championships combined on the minor-league USTA Pro Circuit. In 2006, he earned the singles crown in the second Sacramento Challenger.
   At the top level of men's tennis, Goldstein owns singles victories over International Tennis Hall of Famer Patrick Rafter, future Hall of Famers Novak Djokovic (when the Serb was 18) and Lleyton Hewitt, and former top-10 players Greg Rusedski and Alex Corretja.
   In doubles, Goldstein reached the semifinals of the 2005 U.S. Open with former Stanford teammate Jim Thomas and was a two-time runner-up in San Jose (2003 with Robert Kendrick and 2006 with Thomas).
   During his pro career, Goldstein was elected by his peers to serve on the 10-member ATP Player Council for a two-year term, representing the interests of more than 1,000 players while acting as a liaison between the ATP Board of Directors and senior management.
   Goldstein is familiar with the current collegiate landscape, having served as a Pac-12 Networks color analyst for the previous two seasons.
   He resides in San Francisco with his wife, Abbie, and their three children: Sadie (7), Maggie (5) and Charlie (18 months). Goldstein met Abbie at Stanford.