University of California, Santa Barbara

Simon Thibodeau was named the women’s tennis head coach at UC Santa Barbara on June 12, 2012. He comes to UC Santa Barbara after heading the women’s tennis program at Fresno State for nine years where he accumulated six Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year awards.

After an up-and-down year in 2023, Thibodeau's team returned to form in 2024 posting a 14-8-1 overall record and an 8-0-1 record in Big West competition. The Gauchos won the Regular Season title and earned the No. 1 seed in The Big West Championships. Their run ended in the semifinal round when they lost to eventual champions Cal Poly. Although the team did not receive an at-large selection for the NCAA National Tournament, athletes Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter were selected to compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles National Championships. In the final team rankings, UC Santa Barbara slid in at No. 52. Honer went on to earn All-American status after advancing to the National Quarterfinals in the NCAA National Singles Tournament. It was the Gauchos first All-American since 1996.

In the 2021-22 season, it was more of the same for Thibodeau's team. The Gauchos compiled a 21-7 overall record, sweeping through The Big West. For the second straight year as UC Santa Barbara would go undefeated against conference opponents. The Gauchos also recorded wins against Stanford, USC, TCU, Kansas, Texas Tech and San Diego during the regular season. UC Santa Barbara went on to win The Big West Regular Season and Postseason Championship. After defeating Kansas in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament the Gauchos run would end at the hands of Stanford. In the final ITA rankings, the Gauchos would rank No. 22 in the nation.

During the 2020-21 campaign, winning the Big West championship without losing a match while going undefeated against conference opponents in the regular season. The Gauchos went 13-4 overall with only six players and reached the NCAA tournament where they fell to Stanford. Santa Barbara finished the season ranked in the top 50 nationally and had two players ranked in the top 100. UC Santa Barbara swept the conference's major awards, with Thibodeau winning Coach of the Year. 

In Thibodeau's 11 years in Santa Barbara, the Gauchos have become the team to beat in the Big West. The Gauchos have won four Big West Championships (2016, 2017, 2021, 2022), while achieving a 146-107 overall record under Thibodeau.

The Gauchos reached the NCAA tournament as a team in 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022 seasons. In addition to the team's collective success, Santa Barbara has also had players reach the NCAA individual tournament, with doubles teams making the tournament in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

At Fresno, Thibodeau's teams collected seven WAC titles and made five appearances in the Sweet 16. He coached nine All-Americans and had seven players compete in the NCAA individual tournament. His team had the highest year-end ranking in program history and finished in the top-20 on five occasions. Thibodeau compiled a 156-80 record overall and won 20 or more dual matches five times. 

Before becoming a Bulldog, Thibodeau was the assistant coach for the University of Arizona women’s team for three years, helping to steer the Wildcats into the ITA top-25.

Thibodeau, originally from Repentigny, Quebec, graduated from the University of Sherbrooke in 1997, where he received his bachelor’s in specialized sports science. There, he worked under the Canadian Tennis Federation as a national coach for Canadian junior players, where he traveled around the world gaining an abundance of knowledge on the junior circuit. He supervised national training camps, coached members of the national junior team and assisted with the Canadian Federation Cup team. Thibodeau has an 18 year-old daughter, Camelia Blue.