David Witt, the former coach of Jessica Pegula, spoke openly about their sudden split during the 2024 Australian Open.
To make it past the major quarterfinals for the first time in her career, Pegula started the Australian Open as the fifth seed. She defeated Rebecca Marino in a commanding 6-2, 6-4 victory to start her campaign. However, Clara Burel defeated the American in the second round with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph, pulling off an incredible upset.
Not long after she was let down at the Melbourne Slam, Pegula decided to break things off with her coach, Witt. After his 11-year collaboration with Venus Williams ended in 2018, the two have been collaborating since July 2019.
Witt recently revealed that he wasn’t prepared for Pegula’s decision to end their coaching partnership. He expressed his thoughts about it and said: “It was a total surprise to me. I never saw it coming. We’ve had a great friendship for five years, so it’s very tough. I value my relationship with my players just as much as I love coaching. It’s a tough business. The hard work she put in and we put in was something to remember. Seeing your player succeed is the best feeling in the world.”
He further added: “She’s knocking on the door of winning a major. Our goal was to win a Grand Slam. That was cut short; I didn’t get to accomplish that, but I think everything else has been awesome. I’ve been pretty lucky that I’ve only been with two players the last 15 years.”
Jessica Pegula in 2024
Currently the world no.4, Pegula played her last match on the 18th of January when she lost to world no.44 Clara Burel 6-4 6-2 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open (draw).
Currently, during this season the American achieved a composed 4-2 record. Jessica Pegula’s best accomplishment of the present season was getting to the semifinal in Adelaide.
Pegula will compete next in Doha (Qatar TotalEnergies Open). She will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 12th of February.
Jessica Pegula |
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