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• Comment: Don't cite Wikipedia on Wikipedia. • Quinn (talk) 01:53, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. HBT2000 (talk) 01:30, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

Tom Chivington (born June 24, 1937) is an American college and professional tennis coach. His Foothill College teams won 13 California State Junior College Championships and eight of his players won the state Junior College singles crown. Under Chivington's tutelage, Brad Gilbert won 20 ATP men's singles titles and was ranked in the Top 10 in the world five consecutive years.^{[1][circular reference][2]} Chivington is a member of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame.^[3][4]

Chivington was born in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1937. His family moved to Ventura, California 10 years later, where he attended junior high and Ventura High School along with longtime friend and future tennis coach Dick Gould.^{[5][circular reference]} He played high school tennis and Southern California junior tennis, partnering often with Gould in doubles. Following graduation from high school in 1955, Chivington played tennis for Ventura College.

In 1957, Chivington accepted a tennis scholarship to the University of Wyoming, where he competed in the Big Sky Conference. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education. Following graduation, he enrolled at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, where he earned a Master's degree in Education. After graduating, Chivington returned to Southern California, where he taught physical education and coached tennis at Costa Mesa High School in Orange County.

In 1966, when Dick Gould was named the men's tennis coach at Stanford University, Chivington was hired by Foothill College to replace Gould as their head tennis coach.^[5]

For the next 33 years (1967-2000), Chivington led the Foothill tennis program to unprecedented success. His teams won 13 California State Junior College team championships (including six runner-up finishes); 19 Northern California team championships; and 26 Conference titles. They never had a losing season, and Chivington remains the winningest coach in Foothill College sports coaching history.^[6][7][8][9]

Eight of Chivington's players won the individual California State championship; two of those players, Brad Gilbert and Larry Stefanki, went on to become highly acclaimed and successful coaches on the ATP tour.^{[1][2][6][10]} More than 30 players Chivington coached turned professional, including Paul Chamberlin, Steve Stefanki, Rich Andrews, Marcello Tella (Brazil) and Robin Rutili (Sweden). Over the course of his career, Chivington coached more than 290 players. He retired from collegiate coaching in 2000.

In 1982, Gilbert recruited Chivington to become his coach on the professional circuit.^[2] Over the next 10 years, Gilbert won 20 ATP tournaments, earned over $5 million in prize money, and reached a career-high ranking of #4 in the world (1990). Under Chivington's guidance, Gilbert earned wins over John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, and Stefan Edberg in various tournaments.^{[1][2][11][12]} After retiring as a player, Gilbert himself became a coach, most notably working with Andre Agassi. With Gilbert, Agassi won six grand slam titles, earning a career grand slam as well as the #1 ranking in the world.^[1][2]

During his time at Foothill College, Chivington was voted California Junior College Coach of the Year eight times, and in 2001, he was named winner of the ITA Wilson Coach of the Year Award for his contributions to college tennis.

Following his retirement, Chivington was elected to both the ITA and Northern California Tennis Halls of Fame.^[4][3] He is also a member of the Ventura County Athletic Hall of Fame.^[13]

In 1967, Chivington collaborated with Gould to launch Recreation Tennis, Inc., a startup company that contracted with San Francisco Bay Area cities to provide summer group tennis instruction to local residents.^[5] It was one of the first contractual outsourcing arrangements between local municipalities and a private service provider. Prior to this, municipal summer tennis instruction in the Bay Area had been fragmented and inconsistent. The new venture helped popularize tennis instruction and played a significant role in the local flourishing of the sport. The teaching staff hired and trained by Chivington and Gould comprised primarily college and high school players, and positions were highly sought after.^[5] At its peak in the mid-1970s, the company had contracts with around 25 Bay Area cities, employed more than 50 instructors and provided group tennis instruction to more than 10,000 youth and adults each summer.^[14][15][16]

During the 1975-1976 academic school year, Chivington and his wife took sabbatical leaves from their respective college coaching positions to promote tennis and tennis coaching around the world. With an endorsement from the U.S. State Department, they conducted free clinics and player exhibitions in numerous countries and territories, including French Polynesia, American Samoa, Independent Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Thailand, The Seychelles, Kenya, and Israel. The Chivingtons were joined on the trip by former Foothill College player and Stanford student Peter Hultgren.

In 1969, Chivington married Georgie Ann Steele, the women's tennis coach at Chabot College in Hayward, California.^[9][2] The couple resides in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Woodside, California.