David Witt

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For the Australian sailor, see David Witt (sailor).

David Witt
Witt in 2024
Country (sports) United States
ResidencePonte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S.
Born (1973-06-02) June 2, 1973 (age 51)
High Point, North Carolina, U.S.
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro1991
PlaysRight-handed
Prize moneyUS$ 295,543
Singles
Career record15–23
Career titles0
2 Challenger, 0 Futures
Highest rankingNo. 128 (8 November 1993)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (1998)
French OpenQ3 (1994)
Wimbledon1R (1994)
US Open2R (1994)
Doubles
Career record13–17
Career titles0
2 Challenger, 0 Futures
Highest rankingNo. 157 (22 August 1994)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open1R (1994)
WimbledonQ3 (1993)
US Open3R (1993)

David Witt (born June 2, 1973) is an American tennis coach and former professional player. He is currently coaching Frances Tiafoe and is best known as the former long-time coach of Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula. He enjoyed a successful junior career, during which time he won the USTA Boys' 16s Clay, Hard and National Championships and was the top-ranked under-16 in the USTA in 1989.[1] He was also a semifinalist at the US Open Junior Boys Singles event in 1991.[2]

Career

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His closest career win on the main tour was in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, where he and Brian MacPhie were runners-up in the doubles in 1994. He did win two challenger-level events in his career: Guadalajara, Mexico in 1992 and the Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger at Binghamton, New York in 1997. He retired from professional tennis in 2005.

Coaching

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In 2002, while working as the resident pro at the Deerwood Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida, Witt was approached by the Williams sisters to act as a hitting partner during their participation at the Bausch & Lomb Championships at nearby Amelia Island. In 2007, they asked him to accompany them to Charleston, South Carolina for the Family Circle Cup.[3] Since then he has acted as a travelling hitting partner for both women,[4] most notably for elder sister Venus.[5][6] In December 2018, Venus ended the 11-year partnership.[7] David Witt coached Jessica Pegula from July 2019[8] to January 2024. In March 2024, Witt began coaching Maria Sakkari,[9] and five months later, in July he started collaboration with Frances Tiafoe.[10]

ATP career finals

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Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

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Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP Championship Series (0–0)
ATP World Series (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoors (0–1)
Indoors (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Apr 1994 Birmingham, United States World Series Clay United States Brian MacPhie United States Richey Reneberg
South Africa Christo van Rensburg 		6–2, 3–6, 2–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

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Singles: 4 (2–2)

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Legend
ATP Challenger (2–2)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0-1 Sep 1991 Whistler Mountain, Canada Challenger Hard Brazil Fabio Silberberg 5–7, 3–6
Win 1-1 Nov 1992 Guadalajara, Mexico Challenger Clay Netherlands Mark Koevermans 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1-2 Aug 1994 Binghamton, United States Challenger Hard India Leander Paes 4–6, 2–6
Win 2-2 Aug 1997 Binghamton, United States Challenger Hard United States Brian MacPhie 6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 4 (2–2)

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Legend
ATP Challenger (2–1)
ITF Futures (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1994 Winnetka, United States Challenger Hard United States Brian MacPhie United States Doug Flach
United States Wade McGuire 		7–5, 6–2
Loss 1–1 Jul 1997 Flushing Meadows, United States Challenger Hard United States Michael Joyce United States Geoff Grant
United States Mark Merklein 		1–6, 4–6
Win 2–1 Apr 1998 Birmingham, United States Challenger Clay United States Doug Flach Israel Eyal Erlich
United States Eric Taino 		6–4, 7–5
Loss 2–2 May 2004 USA F11, Orange Park Futures Clay United States Scott Melville United States Levar Harper-Griffith
United States Chris Kwon 		5–7, 3–6

Performance timelines

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A Q3 A A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
French Open A A A Q2 Q3 Q2 A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wimbledon A Q1 Q1 Q3 1R Q2 A A Q1 0 / 1 0–1 0%
US Open 1R 1R Q2 1R 2R A A Q1 Q1 0 / 4 1–4 20%
Win–loss 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0 / 6 1–6 14%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells A A A Q1 Q1 A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Miami A 2R A Q1 Q3 A Q1 A Q1 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Canada A A A A A A A A Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Cincinnati A A A Q3 A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 1 1–1 50%

Doubles

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Tournament 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
French Open A A A 1R A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Wimbledon A A Q3 Q2 A A A Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open 1R A 3R 2R A A 2R Q1 0 / 4 4–4 50%
Win–loss 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 0 / 5 4–5 44%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Miami A A Q2 A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 0 0–0  – 

References

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  1. ^ "David Witt - Profile". Association of Tennis Professionals.
  2. ^ "U.S. Open Junior Championships 1991". International Tennis Federation.
  3. ^ "Witt is a hit with Venus and Serena", The Florida Times-Union, July 13, 2007
  4. ^ Vach, Richard (2007), "Family man Witt joins Williams tennis clan", JAX Tennis Magazine (July)
  5. ^ Harwitt, Sandra (June 26, 2008), "No tune-ups, no problem for the Williamses at Wimbledon", ESPN.com
  6. ^ Clarey, Christopher (July 6, 2008), "Venus rises in sister act", The New York Times
  7. ^ "REPORT: VENUS WILLIAMS PARTS WAYS WITH LONGTIME COACH DAVID WITT". Tennis. December 10, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "Pegula steps up in WTT while looking to springboard into tour return".
  9. ^ "Maria Sakkari Hires New Coach David Witt in Bid for Return to Top".
  10. ^ "Tiafoe ready for U.S. swing with new coach (David Witt), confidence from Wimbledon". July 25, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
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