Women's History Month Highlight: Chrissie Costamagna

Meet Chrissie: Chrissie Costamagna’s impact on tennis in Northern California goes far beyond the court. Yes, her accomplishments as a player, coach, and leader are remarkable, but what stands out most is the way she has consistently used tennis to bring people together, create opportunity, and serve her community. A former UC Davis player from 1983 to 1987, Chrissie built an outstanding playing career, earning USTA NorCal 5.0 Player of the Year in both 2000 and 2001, as well as USTA NorCal 5.0 Doubles Player of the Year in 2000. She was nationally ranked in singles and or doubles in the 35s, 40s, and 45s divisions, played more than 230 NorCal tournament matches, competed in more than 650 league matches, captained USTA League teams for more than 25 years, captained or co captained more than 50 NorCal teams, and led 10 national league teams, including two that finished third in the country and one that finished second.

Her leadership has shaped generations of players. Chrissie coached both the boys’ and girls’ varsity tennis teams at Novato High School in 1989 and the girls’ varsity team at Marin Catholic High School in 1990. Since 2019, she has led both the boys’ and girls’ varsity tennis programs at Branson School, where the results speak for themselves. Under her leadership, the girls won MCAL and NCS titles in 2021, finished second in both MCAL and NCS in 2022, finished second in MCAL and reached the NCS quarterfinals in 2023, finished second in MCAL and won NCS in 2024, and finished second in MCAL and reached the Round of 16 in NCS in 2025. The boys finished second in MCAL and reached the NCS semifinals in 2022, won both MCAL and NCS during an undefeated season in 2023, finished second in both MCAL and NCS in 2024, and finished second in MCAL while winning NCS in 2025. She has also run the MCAL individual tournament for both the boys’ and girls’ seasons since 2022 and will serve as Tournament Director for the NCS individual championships for both girls and boys in 2025 and 2026. Her service to competition also includes nearly 20 years as referee and head referee for the Marin Championships, a National Level 2 tournament, before becoming Tournament Director in 2015, where she has led a volunteer team that manages every aspect of the event, including raising $25,000 in prize money.

What makes Chrissie’s story especially meaningful is the depth of her community service. Nationally, she served six terms on the USTA Adult Competition Committee, including as Vice Chairman from 2015 to 2018 and Chairman from 2019 to 2024. In those roles, she co chaired the National Age Group Task Force to assess the health of national tournaments and recommend ways to grow participation, helped create the NTRP National Championships, and helped build a new national tournament structure that included rewriting the national tournament regulations. She also served two terms on the Senior International Cup Selection Committee from 2015 to 2018, including as Vice Chairman from 2017 to 2018, participated in the 2017 Leadership Cohort group, and assisted the National Adaptive Committee in creating the Unified Doubles National Championships, which launched in December 2018.

At USTA NorCal, Chrissie has served on the Board of Directors since 2009 and now serves as Board President. She has also served as Secretary, President elect, and Chair of the Executive Director Search Committee, while contributing across a wide range of committees, including Adult Tournament as Chair and Vice Chair, Audit, Adult Leagues as Chair, Employee Relations as Chair, Sportsmanship, Sanction and Schedule, Budget, Community Tennis, Adaptive as Chair, Constitution and Rules, Governance and Ombuds, and Strategic Planning. She also helped develop the partnership between USTA NorCal and Special Olympics Northern California to expand adapted programming, share resources, and increase awareness, and she ran the qualifying event for the Unified Doubles National Championships.

Her service extends even further through decades of work with Special Olympics and other community organizations. Chrissie has served as Head Tennis Coach for Northern California Special Olympics in Marin since 2000, overseeing coach recruitment and athlete paperwork, running the tennis competition for the Marin Games regional qualifier until the event concluded in 2020, and helping coordinate exhibitions including the TPC Challenger and the NorCal Gen Gap events, along with fundraisers and competitions outside the regular season. She served as tennis coach for the Northern California delegation at the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, volunteered at the 2022 USA Games in Orlando, and was named tennis coach for the Northern California delegation at the 2026 USA Games in Minneapolis. She has also coached two athletes who went on to represent Team USA at the World Games. Beyond Special Olympics, she has served as a board member of Youth Tennis Advantage since March 2023, supporting tennis and education for underserved communities in the Bay Area, and as a board member of Cedars since December 2024, helping support an organization that provides award winning day programs and residential services for nearly 200 adults with developmental disabilities. In 2014, she also helped establish Marin’s Best, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting people with developmental disabilities in Marin County through financial support and volunteer service.

Chrissie’s honors reflect the respect she has earned across the tennis community and beyond. Her recognitions include Bank of America Global Volunteer of the Year in 2015, USTA NorCal Adult Tournament Volunteer of the Year, USTA NorCal Diversity and Inclusion Award for her Special Olympics work, USTA NorCal Beyond the Baseline Award for her Special Olympics work, induction into the Marin County Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017, USTA NorCal Senior Adult Tournament of the Year for the Marin Championships in 2016, 2018, and 2019, the 2019 USTA Volunteer Exceptional Service Award, the 2022 USTA NorCal Betty Cookson Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2023 USTA Barbara Williams Service Award, and 2025 NCS Honor Coach for Boys’ Tennis. More than anything, though, Chrissie’s legacy is the care, leadership, and generosity she brings to every part of the game. She has used tennis not just to achieve, but to uplift others, strengthen community, and open doors for people of all ages and abilities.

Q: As Board President and a longtime volunteer, what does serving the NorCal tennis community mean to you?

A: I feel honored to serve the NorCal tennis community.  I’ve been a player all of my life so being involved in tennis in other ways has really taught me to appreciate what I do.  And each experience other than playing has different meanings.  For example - Special Olympics makes me proud to coach a population that I learn so much more from than whatever I can give to them.  Coaching high school tennis allows me to share my passion for tennis and be a positive influence on those who I coach. 

Q: What first inspired you to get involved and give back through tennis?

A: My mom.  She was a thoughtful and passionate volunteer when I was growing up.  I saw how fulfilling it was for her and I guess it rubbed off.  She was one of the original Special Olympics swim coaches where I grew up and that is what inspired me to get involved in Special Olympics tennis which I have now been doing for 26 years.

Q: What has made volunteering in this community so meaningful for you over the years?

A: Besides being entrenched in tennis, I have really enjoyed meeting so many interesting and amazing people, many of whom have become lifelong friends.  And with the shared passion for tennis, people can share ideas, pitfalls, success stories which can help grow tennis and get people involved who may have never played.

Q: As a woman in a leadership role, what has it meant to help shape and support the future of tennis in Northern California?

A: I guess I really haven’t thought of being someone who shapes and supports the future of tennis.  I’m just a listener, collaborator and a doer.  I work closely with my colleagues to support appropriate local and national initiatives to move the dial forward to get more and more new people playing and to retain our core base.  And, to share with everyone that tennis is healthy and fun and truly a sport of a lifetime.  

Q: Were there any women, whether mentors, leaders, or fellow volunteers, who helped inspire your path along the way?

A: There have been a number of really inspiring people that have helped inspire me along the way.  Many of our past and current NorCal volunteers (particularly Pam Sloan and Andrea Norman) and NorCal ED Summer Verhoeven have inspired me to work hard, set goals and work together to drive results.  And my biggest inspiration and my best cheerleaders are my mom and sister, Carrie.

Q: What are some of the most rewarding moments you’ve experienced through your volunteer work and service to this community?

A: I think you can see this through other answers.

Q: What message would you share with the next generation of women looking to lead, volunteer, and make an impact through tennis?

A: Get involved and it’s not necessarily about being an outstanding player.  Tennis offers so many opportunities on and off the court.  Start small and have fun.  This could open the door to bigger opportunities.  And encourage friends to join you.