Stella Sampras Webster

Biography

Owner of an impressive overall record of 542-201 (.729), head coach Stella Sampras Webster enters her 30th season at the helm of UCLA women’s tennis in 2025-26. Sampras Webster is only the third head coach in program history, following legends Bill Zaima (1972-76, 1986-1996) and Gayle Godwin (1977-1986). The second-longest-tenured active coach at UCLA, Sampras Webster has led the women’s tennis program to both of its NCAA team championships. On April 9, 2010, she passed friend and mentor Zaima as the program’s all-time leader in head-coaching victories, with No. 246. On April 18, 2023, Sampras Webster recorded the 500th win of her career. Sampras Webster and the Bruins captured the 2014 NCAA title with a thrilling 4-3 victory over North Carolina in Athens, Ga. It marked the 111th NCAA championship for UCLA. The Bruins finished the 2014 campaign with a 27-2 overall record, which included a 9-1 mark in the highly-competitive Pac-12 Conference. UCLA did not surrender the doubles point in any match that year, going a perfect 29-0 in doubles play. The 2014 season marked the second NCAA championship for Sampras Webster, as she also led UCLA to the title in 2008. UCLA’s 2008 title was the first NCAA championship for the program, following up on the team’s 1981 AIAW national crown. Few college coaches can match Sampras Webster’s ability to continually put her team in the title hunt year in and year out. Prior to her first title in 2008, she also had a pair of second-place finishes at