'Never saw it coming,' Jessica Pegula fires coach David Witt ahead of Indian Wells and Miami, abruptly ending their four-year relationship

We’ve had a great friendship for five years, so it’s very tough. I really value my relationship with my player just as much as I love coaching. It’s a tough business. I’ve been pretty lucky that I’ve only been with two players the last 15 years. David Witt said. (Source: Tennis.com)

Witt is considered to be one of the top coaches on the WTA circuit and before Jessica Pegula, he coached Venus Williams. He and Jessica Pegula started working together before she had won a single WTA title, i.e., in 2019. Back then, she was not even a Top 75 player in the WTA rankings. Thus, a lot of her success can be credited to David Witt’s coaching. 

Starting with the 2022 Wimbledon, Jessica Pegula has reached the quarterfinals of six of the seven next Grand Slams. However, she has yet to make it to a Grand Slam semifinal. So far, she has won four singles titles and seven doubles titles, including two masters in each discipline.

David Witt says Jessica Pegula is on the verge of winning a Grand Slam

Jessica Pegula has made considerable improvements in her performances in the recent past and she is one of the top players in the world with a WTA ranking of World No. 4.

David Witt said that she is knocking on the door of winning a major. He was on the lookout to get her there but unfortunately, their partnership has now come to an end. 

You just never know how high a player can go. Me as a coach, I go into it thinking I’m going to try to get the best out the player that I’m working with. I think we’ve done that. She’s obviously knocking on the door [of winning a major]. Our goals were to win a Grand Slam. Obviously, that was cut short, didn’t get to accomplish that, but I think everything else has been awesome. Witt said. 

Pegula’s campaign in the 2024 Australian Open was short-lived. She lost to Clara Burel in the second round of the tournament and that could be one of the reasons for this decision. 

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