Is it double trouble or double triumph for Jessica Pegula's coaching strategy?

Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 02:01

A move which has paid dividends for a number of players most notably Jannik Sinner and now Daniil Medvedev, Jessica Pegula will have two coaches instead of one going forward as she confirmed her new coaching setup before her San Diego Open campaign begins on Wednesday.

Pegula split with long-time coach, David Witt in an interesting move after five years together after she lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Clara Burel at the Australian Open. The 30-year-old hasn't played since with a neck injury seeing her out of action until this week.

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Having had huge success and most of her career highlights with Witt, Pegula seemingly decided it was time for a change after reaching multiple Grand Slam Quarter-Finals, reaching World Number Three and her biggest titles including Montreal in 2023. Witt was even named WTA Coach of the Year in 2022. Now she has enlisted the help of Bahamas-born duo Mark Merklein and Mark Knowles.

Both former pros, Merklein was Assistant Coach for the University of Florida Men's Team. Knowles in particular is a multiple Grand Slam champion in doubles and has priorly coached Milos Raonic and Jack Sock. He has not coached in a number of years outside of his academy, but both cannot travel full time so it is a collaboration that will have to be worked through.

Pegula will hope that it will not go down the route of Holger Rune with time meaning that Boris Becker and Severin Luthi as a tandem didn't work, but it seems she has moved quickly to get her new team onboard ahead of a busy period in the States.

"Right now, I am working in a combination with this guy, Mark Merklein and also Mark Knowles," Pegula said. "You guys must be familiar with them. Both of them can't really travel full time, so kinda still in the process of figuring that out."

"But, both Mark(s), one is based in Boca [Raton], so that is also really very helpful because that's where I live in. It's been nice to have that set up and Mark Knowles is in Dallas, so I actually just spent a week there a few weeks ago," she added.

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🚨New Coaching Setup for Jessica Pegula She’s currently working with 🇧🇸Mark Merklein and 🇧🇸 @knowlzee10s in a collaborative setup!

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8:28 PM · Feb 26, 2024

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