Jessica Pegula ends coaching relationship with David Witt

David Witt, who coached Jessica Pegula during her ascendancy to the uppermost reaches of tennis, is no longer working with the American star.

The decision was Pegula’s, and was made shortly after her second-round exit from this year’s Australian Open.

“It was a total surprise to me,” Witt told TENNIS.com on Monday, two weeks after he and Pegula spoke. “Never saw it coming.”

Despite the split, Witt thanks Pegula for the opportunity, and looks forward to his next challenge.

“We’ve had a great friendship for five years, so it’s very tough,” says Witt, who coached Venus Williams before Pegula. “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.”

Witt began working with Pegula in 2019, before the Buffalo, N.Y. native had won a WTA-level title or cracked the Top 75. In their very first tournament together—the 2019 Citi Open, in Washington, D.C.—Pegula emerged the winner (beating a then-66th-ranked Iga Swiatek along the way).

When asked about the highlights of their time together, Witt names that initial conquest off the top.

“The hard work she put in and we put in, that was something to remember,” Witt recalls. “Seeing your player succeed is the best feeling in the world.”

The achievement sowed the seeds for Pegula’s future run of success, though it took time to bloom. She reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2021 Australian Open, and later that season cracked the Top 25 with Witt in her corner.

Beginning with the 2022 Australian Open, Pegula reached the quarterfinal round in six of the next seven Grand Slam tournaments (she has yet to reach a Slam semifinal, however).

“You just never know how high a player can go,” says Witt. “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.”

Less than two years after being named WTA Coach of the Year, one of the sport’s top names is now a free agent.

“I love coaching, I love being out on the tour, helping someone—whether that’s a male or a female,” says Witt. “I’m looking for the next challenge, the next person that wants to work hard, set goals, grow and succeed.”