Lele Forood (born 10 September 1956) is the Peter and Helen Bing director of women's

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

at Stanford University. She has been the head coach since 2001, and has won 10 NCAA Championships. Previously, she was a top amateur and college tennis player. As a professional, she is best known for reaching the doubles semifinals at the 1977 US Open and at the 1978 US Open, upsetting reigning Wimbledon champion

Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional tennis player. She won three major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all fo ...

. Forood reached a high ranking in singles of No. 30.

Amateur/College years

Forood was the high school state champion in Florida, then became a student at

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

in 1974. She became a pro tennis player after her sophomore year in college, then returned to Stanford University and graduated in 1979 with a degree in sociology. While playing at Stanford, she was named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1976. She also was a National Collegiate singles finalist as a freshman and a semifinalist during her sophomore campaign in leading Stanford to two second place national finishes.

Pro career

In 1976, she and Raquel Giscafré reached the doubles semifinals at the

US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

. Two years later, at the 1978 US Open, she upset third-seeded

in three sets in the third round. Forood won gold in singles and doubles in the 1975

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

. Forood was a member of the Board of

Women's Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. The association governs the WTA Tour, which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and was founded to create a better future fo ...

from 1979 to 1987 and served as its secretary-treasurer from 1983 to 1987. She was the recipient of the WTA Player Service Award in 1983. After the tour and before coming back to Stanford, she promoted the first professional women's tour event in France from 1986 to 1988 in Strasbourg.

Coaching career

Forood was hired as an assistant coach at Stanford under Frank Brennan, who coached her as a junior and as a pro. During this time, Forood was recognized in 1997 as the ITA Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year. When Brennan retired as head coach after the 2000 season, Forood took his place. In 2001, her first year as head coach, Stanford won the NCAA championship, making her the first female coach to win the NCAA team title in tennis. Her team has appeared in the NCAA tournament every year since she began coaching in 2001, and her team has won 10 national titles. As of the end of the 2023 season, her record is 535-60. During her coaching career at Stanford, she achieved multiple championships. The team also accomplished an 89-match winning streak across three seasons (2004–2006). The home court 184-match winning streak at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium, which extended from the 1999 season to the finals of the NCAA championship in 2011 was one of the longer home winning streaks of any intercollegiate sport in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

history. Among the top tennis players who have played for her at Stanford include

Nicole Gibbs Nicole Gibbs (born March 3, 1993) is an American former professional tennis player. She won seven singles and five doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 25 July 2016, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 68. On 19 September ...

Mallory Burdette Mallory Burdette (born January 28, 1991) is an American former professional tennis player. Personal life Burdette was born to Alan and Judy Burdette in Macon, Georgia. She has two sisters, Erin and Lindsay, and a brother Andy, who all played ...

, Amber Liu and

Kristie Ahn Kristie Hyerim Ahn (born June 15, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. In her career, she won seven singles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 30 September 2019, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 8 ...

Head coaching record at Stanford

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forood, Lele Living people Stanford Cardinal women's tennis coaches Stanford Cardinal women's tennis players Tennis players at the 1975 Pan American Games American female tennis players 1956 births Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in tennis Tennis coaches from Florida Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Tennis players from Florida 20th-century American sportswomen