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Some tennis fans online were left in disbelief after Jessica Pegula abruptly ended her partnership with David Witt, who had been the American's coach since July 2019.
Pegula took major strides under the 50-year-old American's guidance. She reached a career-high ranking of World No. 3 in singles (Oct. 2022), won four WTA titles, and reached the quarter-finals of all four Majors at least once during that time.
The World No. 4 was also the runner-up at the 2023 WTA Finals. Witt, meanwhile, was named the WTA Coach of the Year in 2022.
Following her shocking second-round exit at the 2024 Australian Open, Jessica Pegula decided to split up with Witt. Speaking about Pegula's decision, the coach told TENNIS.com:
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“It was a total surprise to me. Never saw it coming.”
Many tennis fans were surprised to learn about the split as Pegula was rising in the ranks and evidently increasing her level ever since she teamed up with Witt. They took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their shock at the news.
One fan said that Witt would hold the GOAT (greatest of all time) status for bringing about an immense improvement in Pegula's game and hoped that there was an amicable end to their partnership.
"David will always hold 🐐 status for helping Jess become the player she is today. Really hope there's nothing to this besides JPeg just needing a change to bring in better results deep in majors."
Another fan expressed their disbelief at the situation as they felt the 29-year-old has been playing at an elite level over the past couple of years.
"Well, that's a complete shock, to say the least, Pegula has split with David Witt. Jess has been at an elite level the last two or so years."
Here are some other reactions from fans.
It is worth mentioning that Pegula has never made it past the quarterfinal stage of any Major during her career.
A look into Jessica Pegula's shock exit at the 2024 Australian Open and her 2024 season so far
The Australian Open has been the kindest to Jessica Pegula out of the four Majors. The American had made it to the quarter-finals three years in a row from 2021-2023 and was expected to go at least a step further this year.
Pegula represented Team USA at the United Cup to kick off her 2024 season, but they were knocked out in the group stages. She later participated at the Adelaide Open as the second seed but had to withdraw before her semifinal match against Daria Kastakina due to an illness.
The World No. 4's hopes of making a deep run at the 'Happy Slam' came to an end when she was defeated by 22-year-old Clara Burel in the second round 6-4, 6-2. The loss came after Pegula's first-round win against qualifier Rebecca Marino in straight sets.
