Allen Fox


Dr. Allen E. Fox is an American former tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s who went on to be a college coach and author. He was ranked as high as U.S. No. 4 in 1962, and was in the top ten in the U.S. five times between 1961 and 1968.

Tennis career

Fox attended Beverly Hills High School, and played tennis for the school.
In 1960, he won the National Collegiate Athletics Association doubles title with Larry Nagler for the University of California at Los Angeles. In 1961, as team captain, Fox won the NCAA singles title, beating Ray Senkowski of Michigan, 6–1, 6–2, and 6–4. He only lost twice in dual match play while in college, to Rafael Osuna and Chuck McKinley. He was named All-American in 1959, 1960, and 1961, and was named All-UCLA and All-University of California Athlete of the Year. Fox helped lead UCLA to NCAA team championships in 1960 and 1961. He graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in physics in 1961, and later earned a Ph.D. there in psychology in 1968.
When he graduated, Fox was the 4th-ranked singles player in the United States. He won the singles title at Cincinnati in 1961. He won also the 1962 US National Hard Court title. That year, he reached the singles final in Cincinnati, falling to Marty Riessen. In 1965 he reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
In 1966, he won the Canadian Nationals and the Los Angeles Open, formerly known as the Pacific Southwest Championships, as a graduate student, beating the then-current champions of all four Major Slams – Manuel Santana, Fred Stolle, Tony Roche, and Roy Emerson, in the finals.

Maccabiah Games

Fox is Jewish. He won a gold medal at the 1965 Maccabiah Games. Four years later, he was back at the 1969 Maccabiah Games as the top seed, and again won the gold medal.

Davis Cup

He was named to the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1961, 1962, and 1966. He played 2 singles matches, winning both of them without giving up more than 2 games in any of the 6 sets that he played.

Halls of Fame

Fox was elected to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame as a player and a coach in 1988. In 1991, he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
He was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 2002. Fox was also inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.

Coaching

Fox coached the Pepperdine University men's tennis team, at the highest level-Division 1, for 17 years. His teams, which included Brad Gilbert, reached the NCAA finals twice, the semifinals three times, and the quarterfinals six times. In his career, he coached his teams to a 368–108 won-lost record between 1979 and 1995; the.778 winning percentage is the best in Pepperdine tennis history. He was named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame and, aside from Gilbert, coached players such as Robbie Weiss, Kelly Jones, and Martin Laurendeau.

Writing and videos

Fox has worked as a broadcaster, writer, and lecturer. He has authored several books, including Think to Win: The Strategic Dimension of Tennis, If I'm The Better Player, Why Can't I Win?, and The Winner's Mind: A Competitor's Guide to Sports and Business Success. He is a former editor of Tennis Magazine.
Allen has published two videos, titled Allen Fox's Ultimate Tennis Lesson and Allen Fox's Ultimate Tennis Drills.

Personal

Fox lives in San Luis Obispo, California, with his wife Nancy and his two sons, JP and Andre.