As one of the nation's premier coaches, Dominic Manilla enters his 16th season as head coach of the Old Dominion women's tennis program in 2026-27 after establishing the Monarchs as one of the nation's most successful and consistent programs. He enters the 2026-27 season with a career record of 218–95.
Since taking over in 2011, Manilla has guided Old Dominion to six consecutive conference championships, seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances, multiple NCAA Tournament victories, more than 200 career wins, multiple top-25 national finishes, and a program-high ranking of No. 16. That same season, the Monarchs also featured the nation's No. 1 doubles team.
Under Manilla's leadership, Old Dominion has produced multiple successful WTA Tour professionals, including Yuliia Starodubtseva, who has consistently been ranked among the world's top 50 players and upset World No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the second round of the 2026 French Open. Another standout professional developed under Manilla, Sofia Johnson, was ranked as high as No. 6 nationally during her collegiate career at Old Dominion.
Manilla has coached four All-Americans, multiple Conference Players of the Year, NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship qualifiers, CSC Academic All-Americans, ITA regional champions, and numerous All-Conference and ITA Scholar-Athletes. He has earned four consecutive Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors (2023-26), three Conference USA Coach of the Year awards, three ITA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year honors, the 2024 PTR College Coach of the Year award, and the 2024-25 J. Roy Rodman Award as Virginia's Outstanding College Coach. Along with the program's championship success, Manilla has built a culture of academic excellence, with his teams consistently ranking among Old Dominion's top-performing programs in the classroom.
Manilla, an ODU graduate and former men's tennis player, spent a year coaching at the prestigious John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York. Manilla was a part of the day-to-day on court training and worked closely with McEnroe, Gilad Bloom (former ATP #56 ranking and Academy Director) and Fritz Buehning (former ATP #21 ranking and Assistant Academy Director).
Before joining the McEnroe Academy, Manilla returned to his alma mater for three years as an assistant coach. Manilla joined the Monarchs in the fall of 2007 and helped ODU to a third-place finish in the Colonial Athletic Association and a ranking as high as No. 38 during the season, as well as an appearance in the conference tournament semifinals. The Monarchs reached the semis again in 2009 and placed the doubles team of Aleksandr Seleznev and Tobias Fanselow in the NCAA Doubles Tournament, with Seleznev qualifying for the singles tournament.
Manilla grew up in a tennis family as his father, Ron Manilla, is an ATP and WTA Tournament Director as well as a PTR International Master Professional and US Special Olympic National Coach. Dominic lives in Norfolk with his wife Louise, and their three sons Leonardo, Bodhi, and Cody.