David Witt
American tennis coach and former player (born 1973)
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David Witt (born June 2, 1973) is an American tennis coach and former professional player. He is currently coaching Aleksandar Kovacevic 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]
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United StatesWitt in 2024 | |
| Country (sports) | United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Born | June 2, 1973 High Point, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Turned pro | 1991 |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Prize money | US$ 295,543 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 15–23 |
| Career titles | 0 2 Challenger, 0 Futures |
| Highest ranking | No. 128 (8 November 1993) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (1998) |
| French Open | Q3 (1994) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (1994) |
| US Open | 2R (1994) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 13–17 |
| Career titles | 0 2 Challenger, 0 Futures |
| Highest ranking | No. 157 (22 August 1994) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| French Open | 1R (1994) |
| Wimbledon | Q3 (1993) |
| US Open | 3R (1993) |
Career
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
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 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 several months later, in July he started a collaboration with Frances Tiafoe,[10][11] which ended in October 2025. In January 2026, Aleksandar Kovacevic hired Witt as a coach to start the 2026 season.[12]
ATP career finals
Doubles: 1 (runner-up)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Apr 1994 | Birmingham, United States | World Series | Clay |  Brian MacPhie |
Richey Reneberg  Christo van Rensburg |
6–2, 3–6, 2–6 |
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
Singles: 4 (2–2)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0-1 | Sep 1991 | Whistler Mountain, Canada | Challenger | Hard |  Fabio Silberberg |
5–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 1-1 | Nov 1992 | Guadalajara, Mexico | Challenger | Clay |  Mark Koevermans |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1-2 | Aug 1994 | Binghamton, United States | Challenger | Hard |  Leander Paes |
4–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2-2 | Aug 1997 | Binghamton, United States | Challenger | Hard | Brian MacPhie |
6–2, 6–4 |
Doubles: 4 (2–2)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 1994 | Winnetka, United States | Challenger | Hard | Brian MacPhie |
Doug Flach Wade McGuire |
7–5, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Jul 1997 | Flushing Meadows, United States | Challenger | Hard | Michael Joyce |
Geoff Grant Mark Merklein |
1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | Apr 1998 | Birmingham, United States | Challenger | Clay | Doug Flach |
 Eyal Erlich Eric Taino |
6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 2–2 | May 2004 | USA F11, Orange Park | Futures | Clay | Scott Melville |
Levar Harper-Griffith Chris Kwon |
5–7, 3–6 |
Performance timelines
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Singles
| 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
| 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 | – | |||||||||||||
