Stanford University Athletics

In just his first year as a head coach, Paul Goldstein led Stanford to one of its best seasons in recent memory, with the Cardinal displaying continued progress in all phases throughout a campaign filled with milestones. His second year at the helm continued the upward trajectory of the program, with a team best finish since 2012 at the NCAA Round of 16.

Making its 37th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, the Cardinal upended red-hot Notre Dame with a solid 4-1 win to advance to the Round of 32. Looming in the next round was 14th-seeded Northwestern, whom the Cardinal would face on the Wildcats' home court. Tom Fawcett's thrilling 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 win at the top spot to clinch the 4-3 upset highlighted the day that saw the Cardinal finally win one of its five 4-3 matches on the year.

Goldstein was introduced on June 24, 2014, as Stanford’s first Taube Family Director of Men’s Tennis, the latest generous gift from longtime tennis benefactors, Tad Taube, ’53, MS ’57, and Dianne Taube.

The 10th head coach in school history, Goldstein followed a successful 10-year stint by John Whitlinger, who announced his retirement in May 2014 after guiding Stanford to a 160-85 overall record and nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

Goldstein made an immediate impact, recognized as the ITA Northwest Region Coach of the Year and Stanford’s first Pac-12 Coach of the Year since 2006. The Cardinal also notched its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2012, defeating Tennessee 4-2 in the first round in Durham, N.C.

Despite showcasing a lineup that routinely featured three freshmen, the Cardinal flourished under Goldstein, clinching a share of the Pac-12 regular-season championship for the first time since 2010 while also reaching the Pac-12 Tournament final for the first time in school history. In addition to its surprising Pac-12 regular-season finish, the Cardinal swept UCLA and USC for the first time since 2009 and pocketed two victories against California. Stanford’s seven losses all came against teams ranked among the top-30.

“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,” said Goldstein. “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.”

A native of Rockville, Maryland, and a 1994 graduate of Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., Goldstein was ranked among the top-10 juniors in the world and made USTA history by becoming the first player to capture three consecutive national championships (Boys’ 16 in 1992, Boys’ 18 in 1993, Boys’ 18 in 1994) in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Goldstein then enjoyed a stellar collegiate career from 1995-98, leading the Cardinal to a 104-6 overall record while becoming the first player in NCAA history to compete as a starting member of four consecutive national championship teams. Goldstein was honored as an All-American in each of his four years.

Goldstein capped his career with a Pac-10 Player of the Year honor in 1998 after winning 33 of his 35 overall matches. A team captain during his senior campaign, Goldstein and his teammates surrendered just three individual points the entire season while going undefeated and winning the NCAA title. Goldstein finished his career with 84 dual match victories, ranking fifth overall in program history.

The first-ever two-time recipient of the ITA’s Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award (1997, 1998), Goldstein was also recognized as the ITA’s Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award recipient in 1997. Goldstein was inducted into the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in May 2013 and currently serves on the ITA Hall of Fame Committee.

Goldstein received his B.A. in human biology from Stanford in 1998 before embarking on an impressive 10-year professional career. After moving into the world’s top-100 in one year on the professional circuit, Goldstein’s ATP world rankings eventually reached as high as No. 58 in singles and No. 40 in doubles. A US Open doubles semifinalist in 2005, Goldstein also boasts career singles wins over current world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, James Blake, Mardy Fish, Lleyton Hewitt and Patrick Rafter. Goldstein was the highest ranked player in the world with a college degree for the majority of his professional career.

During his tenure as a professional athlete, Goldstein was elected by his peers to serve on the 10-member ATP Player Council for a two-year term, representing the interests of 1000+ professional tennis players while acting as a liaison between the ATP Board of Directors and senior management.

Since 2008, Goldstein had served in sales and business development roles at Bloom Energy, a Silicon Valley-based clean energy fuel cell company.

Following his retirement from professional tennis, Goldstein remained active on both a local and national level within the tennis community, serving as a USTA Nominating Committee member and member of the ITA Steering Committee on Dual Match formats while also coaching aspiring juniors in the Bay Area.

Goldstein also served as a Pac-12 Networks color analyst in 2006-07.

Goldstein resides in Menlo Park with his wife and fellow Stanford alum, Abbie, and their three children: Sadie (8), Maggie (6) and Charlie (2).