Paul Goldstein - Biography

Paul Herbert Goldstein (born August 4, 1976, in Washington, D.C.) is a retired tennis player from the United States, who turned professional in 1998. He announced his retirement from professional tennis in February 2008, as he will start working with a clean energy company.

The right-hander reached his highest individual ranking on the ATP Tour on April 24, 2006, when he became the #58 player in the world. He was 95th in the ATP rankings as of July 8, 2007. In doubles, he reached #40 on February 5, 2007.

Early life

Goldstein is the son of Clark Goldstein, a former national table tennis champion. He began playing tennis when he was nine years old. An all-court player with strong groundstrokes and excellent concentration, he reached the final of the 1990 USTA National Boys’ 14s Indoor Championships.

His first major victory came when he was ranked # 1 in the USTA Boys' 16 age group in 1992, and won the USTA Boys 16 title.

He then won the USTA Boys' 18s in both 1993 and 1994 (in 1994, defeating Jan-Michael Gambill, becoming the first player in 45 years to repeat as singles champion). He also won the 1994 doubles championship with Scott Humphries.[1] In doubles, he also reached US Open Juniors final and the semi-finals at Australian Open and Wimbledon (both with Scott Humphries).

He is a graduate of Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., where he was a four-time Washington Post First Team All Met selection ('91–'94).[2][3]

College career

Later, while at Stanford University from 1994–98, earning All-American honors all four years, Goldstein teamed with Scott Humphries to win numerous doubles championships. He also became the first athlete in college tennis history to play for four NCAA team tournament champions.

During Paul's senior year, he played No. 1 singles and led Stanford to a 28–0 regular season record. He reached the 1998 NCAA singles final. but lost to teammate Bob Bryan. His coach at Stanford, Dick Gould, praised Goldstein, saying, "I have been blessed with outstanding young people in my 36 years of coaching at the collegiate level. However, I can think of only one or maybe two players for whom I could give as high a recommendation as Paul. And certainly no one would receive a higher endorsement from me than Paul."

Goldstein is one of very few college graduates among the top 200 ranked men, and has said, "It's always been a priority for me to try to strike a balance between my academics and my tennis."

He graduated in 1998 with a degree in human biology.

In 1997, was the recipient of the Rafael Osuna Award, given for symbolic competitive excellence and contribution to the game. In 1997 and 1998 he received the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship and Leadership Award.

Pan American Games

Goldstein won the gold medal in singles during the Pan American Games in 1999 in Winnipeg, Canada.

Pro career

He has a total of 26 USTA Circuit titles during his career through November 2005 – 12 in singles and 14 in doubles – making him the winningest player in USTA Pro Circuit history.[4]

In January 1999 at the Australian Open he shocked world # 8 Greg Rusedski, 6–4, 6–7(11,) 7–6(5), 6–2. In June at Wimbledon he upset both world # 33 Jan Siemerink, 6–4, 5–7, 4–6, 6–2, 6–1, and # 17 Félix Mantilla, 6–2, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–2. In August he upset world # 8 Àlex Corretja of Spain 7–6(11), 7–6(5), in Washington, D.C..

In February 2000 he defeated world # 17 Patrick Rafter of Australia 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, in Delray Beach, Florida.

He won the Austin tournament in mid-November 2003 by beating Robert Kendrick 6–3 6–3 in the final.

Later that month, he won the title in Champaign, Illinois.

Goldstein won his first singles title of 2004 in Covington, Louisiana during September. He defeated Israeli youngster Dudi Sela 6–3, 5–7, 6–4 in the semifinals. He won the title with a 6–2, 6–0 victory over Adre Sa in the final. He won the doubles honors as well, along with partner KJ Hippensteel.

That same month, Paul and his partner Brian Vahaly won the College Station, Texas, hard court doubles title.

Goldstein had a stellar performance winning the Hilton Waikoloa Village USTA Challenger in January 2005.

Goldstein also won a title in Busan, South Korea, at the doubles event. With Ram as his partner, they defeated Wesley Moodie and Justin Gimelstob in the final.

In the 2005 US Open, Goldstein and Jim Thomas upset defending champions and #1 seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in the first round, as well as Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry in the QFs, before losing to eventual champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the SFs. In the 2006 US Open, Goldstein and Thomas again defeated Knowles and Nestor (this time in the 3rd round).

Goldstein and Jim Thomas lost in the doubles finals of the 2006 SAP Open to 47 year old John McEnroe and Jonas Björkman. They also were doubles finalists in two other ATP tournaments in 2006 (Indianapolis, won by Andy Roddick and Bobby Reynolds, and Tokyo, won by Ashley Fisher and Tripp Phillips).

In February 2006 he beat world # 18 Robby Ginepri 6–7(4), 6–3, 6–1, in Las Vegas, and in July he defeated world # 13 Lleyton Hewitt 6–4, 6–4 in Los Angeles. In the January Australian Open, he beat future champion Novak Đoković in the first round 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, 6–2.

In January 2007 he defeated world # 21 Dominik Hrbatý of Slovakia 6–2, 7–6(4), in Adelaide, Australia. The next month he defeated world # 45 Julien Benneteau in Las Vegas, 6–1, 6–0. Despite losing in the first round of singles at the Tunica Resorts Challenger in May, he and American teen phenom Donald Young won the doubles final, defeating Pablo Cuevas and Horacio Zeballos 4–6, 6–1, 10–4.

Tennis exhibitions

Goldstein has participated in exhibition events for other tennis players and their charities, including Andy Roddick, Jim Thomas, and the Bryan brothers. On September 27, 2008, he participated in The Bryan Brothers' All-Star Tennis Smash in Thousand Oaks, California, initially playing doubles with Justin Gimblestob, and ending up playing singles with Andre Agassi (losing 7–5).

Retirement

Goldstein officially retired in February 2008 and began working with a clean energy company in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2004 he married his esteemed college sweetheart and partner of nine years, Abbie; it was she who persuaded him to play on during the 2007 season. On June 15, 2007, the Goldsteins became parents to a daughter, Sadie.

ATP Tour and Challenger singles titles (12)

External links

• Goldstein Recent Match Results
• Goldstein World Ranking History
• Jewish Virtual Library bio
• Jews in Sports bio
• "Paul Goldstein: Circuit Player of the Week", 11/9/05
• Jim Thomas (Goldstein's doubles partner) official website
• Goldstein participating in 2008 tennis exhibition event