Staff Directory
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- Phone:
- 467-1613
Chris Klingemann is set to begin his 15th season with Northwestern Men’s Tennis in 2025-26. Klingeman joined the coaching staff in 2011 and was elevated to his current role of associate head coach in August of 2014. Throughout his tenure, the Wildcats have reached the NCAA Tournament nine times, including six straight in his first six seasons.
Klingemann made an instant impact upon arriving at Northwestern for the 2011-12 season, taking the team back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years. That season, the Wildcats posted a record of 15-11, including a conference record of 7-4, their most conference wins in a season since 2001. The duo of Sidarth Balaji and Raleigh Smith took Northwestern back to the winner’s circle at the Big Ten Doubles Championship for the first time since 1985, with Smith also taking victory at the Big Ten Singles Championship for the ‘Cats’ first win since 1998.
Klingemann was named the ITA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the year for the 2016 season, as Northwestern had its best season in program history to date, winning a school-record 26 matches and hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Championship tournament as the No. 14 overall seed. The Wildcats climbed as high as No. 7 in the national rankings during the regular season. The team finished second in the Big Ten with a 10-1 conference record and picked up 13 wins over top-50 ranked opponents.
Prior to joining the collegiate coaching ranks, Klingemann starred for four years at Ohio State, where he played for the men’s tennis team and received a degree in communication. He helped lead the Buckeyes to three straight Big Ten regular season championships from 2005-07 and a pair of Big Ten Tournament crowns in 2006 and 2007. Ohio State reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship tournament three straight times (2005-07) during Klingemann's tenure as a Buckeye. Klingemann was an Academic All-Big Ten selection in 2005, while on the court, he earned All-Big Ten accolades in 2006 and 2007. As a senior in 2007, Klingemann was a team captain and voted the squad's most valuable player.
After playing at Ohio State, Klingemann competed for more than two years on the ATP Tour. While on the ATP circuit, Klingemann was ranked among the top six ATP professionals in Canada and amongst the top 520 players in the world. Playing doubles, Klingemann won two Futures Tournament titles and advanced to the finals of a Challenger Tournament. He has a career-high doubles ranking of No. 480 in the world. Klingemann was also a singles finalist in a Futures Tournament after posting four wins over players who were ranked in the top 200.
