Pepperdine University Athletics

As the assistant coach for the Pepperdine women's tennis program, Pete Billingham has been part of some of the greatest seasons in program history. He is in his fifth season with the Waves in 2023-24.

Since arriving in Malibu ahead of the 2019-20 season, the Waves have gone 76-19 (.800) overall. They were the NCAA runner-up in 2021 and finished with a #3 national ranking. Pepperdine made the NCAA quarterfinals in 2022 and 2023; both times, the Waves ended the season ranked in the top 10 of the final ITA polls.

"Pete brings years of experience working with world-class juniors and professional athletes," said Pepperdine Coach Per Nilsson at the time of Billingham’s hiring. "He's extremely motivated to recruit elite players that fit into Pepperdine's culture. Together, we are excited to continue building the program toward a national championship."
 
Before arriving at Pepperdine, he was the Director of Tennis at the Saddlebrook Tennis Academy in Wesley Chapel, Florida. He started his coaching career there in 2012 and was promoted to head of women’s tennis in 2014 before eventually taking over the Director of Tennis role in 2018, overseeing the full-time academy. The academy consisted of 75 ITF-ranked juniors and ATP/WTA touring pros including the likes of Alexander Zverev, John Isner, Hubert Hurkacz, Dominic Koefer, Denis Kudla and more. In 2018, the International Tennis Federation contracted Billingham to be part of the Grand Slam Development Fund tour, in which he worked with multiple juniors ranked in the top 10 in the world.  
 
During his time at Saddlebrook, Billingham worked and traveled with multiple high-profile players, including future Pepperdine Wave Luisa Stefani, who was ranked #10 in the world (and went on to a #2 NCAA singles ranking). Others he worked with included Liam Draxl (ranked #10 in the world and the #1 NCAA singles player), Layne Sleeth (ranked #36 in the world) and Francesca Di Lorenzo (ranked #11 in the world (and the #1 NCAA singles player).
 
Billingham has coached multiple times at all four grand slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open) and has traveled to over 100 ITF tournaments across the globe.  
 
Billingham graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 2012 with a political science degree, where he ranked #82 in the country.