Jesse Witten
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jesse Witten (born October 15, 1982, in
Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...
) is an American professional
tennis player Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
. He is a graduate of Lely High School and the
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
, where he majored in
kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...
.


College career

Witten had a highly successful college career at the University of Kentucky from 2001 to 2005. His achievements include: *Reached Final of
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Championships (2002) *Named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Rookie of the Year (2002) *Named the SEC Rookie of the Year (2002) *Attained (4) first team All-SEC singles selections during his career *The University of Kentucky's first (5) time ITA All-American (4 singles; 1 doubles) *The University of Kentucky's first SEC Men's Tennis Player of the Year


Professional career


2001

Upon graduating from Lely High School, Witten was given a wildcard to the USTA Pro Circuit event in
Seminole, Florida Seminole is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 19,364 at the 2020 census. History The first white settlement at Seminole was made in the 1840s. This community was named after ...
, where he reached the semifinal.


2002

Witten was given a wildcard to the qualifying round of the US Open and also attempted to qualify for ATP events in Cincinnati, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana.


2003

The summer after his sophomore year of college, Witten played a handful of USTA Pro Circuit events and reach the semifinal of the event in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
.


2004

As a wildcard, Witten won his first professional title at the USTA Pro Circuit event in Joplin, Missouri. He also reached two other finals at USTA Pro Circuit events in
Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...
, and
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
.


2005

Upon graduation from the University of Kentucky, Witten was given a lucky loser entrance into the ATP event in Indianapolis, Indiana where he lost in the first round to
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
. He then won consecutive titles later in the summer on the ITF Circuit in
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
. He finished the year strong by reaching the semifinals of USTA Circuit events in
Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...
, and
Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
.


2006

His most successful year to date, Witten ended the year with a high of No. 171 on the ATP Tour. He attempted to qualify for the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
and
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
. He qualified for his first Grand Slam at the US Open where he lost in the first round to Paul Goldstein. He began the year by winning the title at the USTA Pro Circuit event in
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
. He went on to win USTA Pro Circuit titles in
Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...
, and
Harlingen, Texas Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city co ...
. He received a wildcard to the ATP event in
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, where he lost in the first round to
Marcos Baghdatis Marcos Baghdatis (Greek language, Greek: Μάρκος Παγδατής, Arabic language, Arabic: ماركوس بغداتيس); born 17 June 1985 is a Greek Cypriot former professional tennis player and coach. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Aus ...
. He also attempted to qualify for ATP events in
Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, De ...
,
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
,
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, and
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. Witten made his main draw Grand Slam debut when he and Phillip Simmonds partnered in doubles at the US Open. They lost in the first round to the pairing of
Alexander Peya Alexander Peya (born 27 June 1980) is an Austrian tennis coach and a former professional player. His career-high doubles ranking was World No. 3, first achieved in August 2013. He also reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 92 in April 200 ...
and
Björn Phau Björn Phau (born 4 October 1979) is a retired German tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 59 in June 2006. Career highlights include reaching five ATP tour semifinals ( Tokyo in 2005, Casablanca in 2006, Beiji ...
.


2007

Witten attempted to qualify for all four Grand Slam events. He qualified for the ATP event in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, where he lost in the first round to
Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian tennis coach and former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a youn ...
. Nearly a year and a half since his last title, Witten won his seventh championship at the
USTA The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national Sport governing body, governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and devel ...
Pro Circuit event in
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
, where he defeated Donald Young in the final. He reached the quarterfinals of five other USTA Pro Circuit events.


2009

Witten qualified for the 2009 U.S. Open, where he won his first round match against 29th seed
Igor Andreev Igor Valeryevich Andreev (, BGN/PCGN: ''Andreyev'', ISO 9: ''Andreev'', ; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian coach and a former professional tennis player. He won three ATP Tour singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 French Open a ...
, 6–4, 6–0, 6–2. In second round, he defeated
Máximo González Máximo González Mereira (; born July 20, 1983) is an Argentine professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 58, achieved in July 2009 and his career-high doubles ranking is World No. 10 achieved on 11 September 2023 ...
6–7(3), 6–4, 7–5, 6–3. In the third round, Witten lost the match to
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
, 7–6(2), 3–6, 6–7(2), 4–6. This match was notable because he was #276 in the rankings while Djokovic was #4, and Witten won the first set 7–6.


2010

Witten qualified into the
2010 French Open The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 23 May through ...
but was defeated in the first round by the #25 seed
Marcos Baghdatis Marcos Baghdatis (Greek language, Greek: Μάρκος Παγδατής, Arabic language, Arabic: ماركوس بغداتيس); born 17 June 1985 is a Greek Cypriot former professional tennis player and coach. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Aus ...
6–3, 6–4, 6–3.


2011


2012

Witten won the Metzger Tournament at Colonial, and the 43rd annual City of Naples Tennis Championships at Cambier Park. Witten used protected ranking (367th) to get into the Panama City Challenger field after an 11-month break at pro level. He reached the semifinal, where he was forced to retire due to lower back injury.


2013

Witten won the 2013 F15 futures at Indian Harbour Beach.


2015

Witten played in the USA F16 in
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
, and lost in the semi-finals to
Tennys Sandgren Tennys Loren Sandgren II ( ; born July 22, 1991) is an American former professional tennis player. He has achieved a career-high ATP singles ATP rankings, ranking of No. 41 on January 14, 2019. He played two years of college tennis at the Univer ...
after beating
Rhyne Williams Robert Rhyne Williams (born March 22, 1991) is a former American tennis player and current tennis coach. He played his last ATP match in 2018, and is coaching fellow collegiate player Dominik Koepfer, and Zachary Svajda. Williams first playe ...
in the quarter-finals.


2016

At the Israel F7 ITF tournament, Witten reached the semi-finals and lost to fellow American
Nicolas Meister Nicolas Meister may refer to: * Nicolas Meister (tennis) * Nicolas Meister (footballer) Nicolas Meister (born 28 September 1999) is an Austrian football player who plays for Lafnitz on loan from Juniors OÖ. Club career He made his professio ...
. He won his 3rd Metzger Open.


2017

Witten defeated Collin Johns 6–2 and 6–3 to win his 4th Metzger Open Championship.


2018

Witten achieved his 3rd Metzger Open Championship in a row this year, and 5th in total.


Playing style

Witten employs an offensive baseline game although he is capable of playing an all-round game. His main strengths are his groundstrokes, foot speed, balance and return game. His groundstrokes are technically sound on both forehand and backhand, he hits the ball extremely early which creates great power, depth and consistency. Given his overweight appearance, Witten regularly surprises opponents with his speed and quality of play.


Personal

Witten began playing tennis at age 6. His father Paul works in construction management, and his mother Elaine is an optometrist. He has one older sister Sarah who is an elementary school teacher and also played tennis for the University of Kentucky. Jesse's younger brother Ben graduated in 2008 from the
University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...
and works in Florida as a laboratory director. Witten likes every type of sport and is a big
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...
and Flint Tropics fan. He has his own tennis academy in his hometown of Naples.


References


External links


Official Site
*
Witten Recent Match Results

Witten World Ranking History

Jesse Witten (Facebook)

The New York Observer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witten, Jesse 1982 births Living people American male tennis players Kentucky Wildcats men's tennis players Sportspeople from Naples, Florida Tennis players from Florida