Washington State University Athletics

Raquel Atawo is in her fourth season as the Cougars head coach after being named the eighth head coach in program history, July 2, 2021.

During the 2023-24 season, the Cougars posted 10 vicoties, the most in Atawo’s first three seasons as the team showed improvement throughout the year. Again led by underclassmen, the COugars started the year strong, winning it’s first four, and eight of its first 10 matches. The best win came at home against No. 51 Colorado, which earned WSU a season-best No. 73 national ranking. Atawo guided sohomores Eva Alvarez Sande and Yura Nakagawa to All-Pac-12 Second-Team and Honorable Mention honors, respectively.  WSU placed six members on the All-Pac-12 Spring Honor Roll.

Throughout the 2022-23 season, WSU battled injuries en route to a 7-15 overall mark. Despite the loss of its top player early in the season, Atawo found positives in a young Cougar squad. Freshman Eva Alvarez Sanda posted a 19-16 singles record, 5-5 at No. 1, en route to being named ITA Northwest Region Rookie of the Year and earning All-Pac-12 Second-Team honors. Alvarez Sande teamed with sophomore Elyse Tse to post a 10-2 doubles record and a No. 51 national ranking. Additionally, four players were selected to the 2023 Pac-12 Spring Honor Roll while off the court, Atawo was selected to participate in the 2023 NCAA Women Coaches Academy Program.

In Atawo’s first season, 2021-22, Cougar Tennis showed improvement in multiple areas, specifially doubles play where the Cougars had a winning record in Pac-12 play. Atawo oversaw the improvement in 2022 senior Michaela Bayerlova, who became WSU’s first All-American in program history after reaching the 2022 NCAA Championship quarterfinals. Bayerlova was also WSU’s first Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year while also taking home Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

In addition to Bayerlova, Atawo mentored Savanna Ly-Nguyen to a 21-12 record, the first time the senior reached 20 wins in her career. Ly-Nguyen also was an All-Pac-12 selection was named ITA Northwest Region Most Improved Senior. Atawo had WSU playing its best late in the season as she guided WSU to back-to-back victories over rival Washington (ranked No. 32 and 35, respectively).
 
Atawo arrived in Pullman having the spent the previous season as the women’s assistant coach at Auburn University. During the 2020-21 campaign, the Tigers posted a 14-9 record and finished the season ranked No. 22, their highest ranking since the 2017 season. For her efforts, Atawo was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southern Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
  
During the 2021 season, Atawo helped guide the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament, where Auburn advanced to the second round. The Tigers recorded several historic moments during the 2020-21 season, including the program’s first-ever win over Florida, a win in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, and sophomore Selin Ovunc earning All-America honors after reaching the Round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship.
 
Prior to Auburn, Atawo spent one season at her alma mater, California, and began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at UC Davis.
 
During her 15-year professional career on the WTA Tour, Atawo was ranked as high as No. 10 in the world in doubles and No. 162 in singles. She won 18 doubles tournament titles as a professional and reached the semifinals at the Australian Open in 2014 and Wimbledon in 2015 and 2016. Throughout her professional career, she appeared in 50 Grand Slam events. She was a two-time qualifier for the WTA Year End Championships and reached the finals of 26 WTA Tour doubles events.
 
In addition to the WTA Tour, Atawo played seven seasons of World Team Tennis, winning the league title in 2012 with the Washington Kastles and conclude her WTT career in 2019 with the Philadelphia Freedoms, where she was named the WTT Female MVP.
 
She wrapped up her playing career in 2019, reaching the doubles quarterfinals at the Australian Open, second rounds at Wimbledon, Roland Garros and first round at the U.S. Open. Her last match at Wimbledon came on the famed Centre Court while her final match as a professional came at the U.S. Open.

As a collegiate player at Cal, Atawo, then Kops-Jones, was a five-time All-American in both singles and doubles and was the 2004 ITA Senior Player of the Year and Pac-10 Player of the Year. She was ranked No. 1 nationally in singles most of the season and was the first player from Cal to win the Pac-10 singles championship. Atawo was also the first Division I African-American female to win a national collegiate singles title when she captured the 2003 ITA/Riviera All-American Championship.
 
Atawo and doubles partner Christina Fusano teamed up to win the NCAA doubles title in 2003, and they were the Pac-10 doubles champions in 2002 and 2003. She began her career at Cal by being named the 2001 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. She was inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.
 
A native of Fresno, Calif., Atawo graduated from Cal in 2004 with a degree in American Studies. In 2015, she married former Cal track & field athlete Toby Atawo and they have a young son, Dominic.