Whatever Happened To…. Paul Goldstein

Written by: Staff on 17th November 2011

Whatever Happened To…. Paul Goldstein

epa00847705 US Paul Goldstein returns a shot during his match against Mario Ancic of Croatia at the St.Petersburg Open tennis ATP tournament in St.Petersburg, Tuesday, 24 October 2006. EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV |

The San Francisco Examiner recently caught up with former Stanford All-American Paul Goldstein, a former Top 60 player in the world who holds the distinction of being the only player in NCAA history to win an NCAA team title four straight times.

Goldstein recently participated in a charity table tennis match in the Bay Area.

The tournament and charity event benefitted local educational foundations and featured 96 competitors playing three hours of intense table tennis at San Francisco’s Terra Gallery.

Other celebs who took part included NBA Hall of Famer and TopSpin host committee member Chris Mullin and former A’s VP and 49ers COO Andy Dolich.

Said Goldstein, whose father Clark Goldstein was the 1958 U.S. Open Table Tennis boys’ champion. “We’ve had several conference calls to discuss strategy. Just like tennis, make them play one more ball, counter-punch; that’s my approach.”

According to the Examiner, for the past eight years, the younger Goldstein and his wife, Abbie, have lived in San Francisco’s Noe Valley after meeting as students at Stanford. In 1998, his senior year, Goldstein led the Cardinal tennis team to a 28-0 season.

A 10-year professional tennis career followed. Goldstein ranked as high as No. 58 in the world in 2006, yet he downplays his successes as a pro. The humble and humorous Goldstein considers his 26 titles on the USTA pro circuit as “bittersweet,” comparing himself to Crash Davis from “Bull Durham” fame, a stellar career minor leaguer who never found success on the big stage.

Goldstein, 35, retired from the pro circuit in 2008 and put his human biology degree to work as an account manager for Bloom Energy, a Sunnyvale-based clean energy company.

Topics: Paul Goldstein