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| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Naples, Florida |
| Born | (1982-10-15)October 15, 1982 (age 43) Naples, Florida |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Turned pro | 2005 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $402,100 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 2–9 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 163 (January 11, 2010) |
| Current ranking | No. 1700 (November 11, 2019) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | Q2 (2007,2010) |
| French Open | 1R (2010) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2010) |
| US Open | 3R (2009) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 0–2 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 274 (October 25, 2010) |
| Current ranking | No. 1183 (November 11, 2019) |
| Last updated on: May 28, 2020. | |
Jesse Witten (born October 15, 1982, inNaples, Florida) is an American professionaltennis player. He is a graduate ofLely High School and theUniversity of Kentucky, where he majored inkinesiology.
Witten had a highly successful college career at the University of Kentucky from 2001 to 2005. His achievements include:
Upon graduating fromLely High School, Witten was given a wildcard to the USTA Pro Circuit event inSeminole, Florida, where he reached the semifinal.
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.
The summer after his sophomore year of college, Witten played a handful of USTA Pro Circuit events and reach the semifinal of the event inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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 inPeoria, Illinois, andLexington, Kentucky.
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 toAndy Murray. He then won consecutive titles later in the summer on theITF Circuit inEcuador. He finished the year strong by reaching the semifinals of USTA Circuit events inWaco, Texas, andHonolulu, Hawaii.
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 theFrench Open andWimbledon. He qualified for his first Grand Slam at theUS Open where he lost in the first round toPaul Goldstein. He began the year by winning the title at the USTA Pro Circuit event inTampa, Florida. He went on to win USTA Pro Circuit titles inJoplin, Missouri, andHarlingen, Texas. He received a wildcard to the ATP event inHouston, Texas, where he lost in the first round toMarcos Baghdatis. He also attempted to qualify for ATP events inDelray Beach, Florida,Newport, Rhode Island,Indianapolis, Indiana, andCincinnati, Ohio. Witten made his main draw Grand Slam debut when he andPhillip Simmonds partnered in doubles at the US Open. They lost in the first round to the pairing ofAlexander Peya andBjörn Phau.
Witten attempted to qualify for all fourGrand Slam events. He qualified for theATP event inMemphis, Tennessee, where he lost in the first round toJürgen Melzer. Nearly a year and a half since his last title, Witten won his seventh championship at theUSTA Pro Circuit event inTulsa, Oklahoma, where he defeatedDonald Young in the final. He reached the quarterfinals of five other USTA Pro Circuit events.
Witten qualified for the2009 U.S. Open, where he won his first round match against 29th seedIgor Andreev, 6–4, 6–0, 6–2. In second round, he defeatedMáximo González 6–7(3), 6–4, 7–5, 6–3. In the third round, Witten lost the match toNovak Djokovic, 7–6(2), 3–6, 6–7(2), 4–6.[1][2] This match was notable because he was #276 in the rankings while Djokovic was #4, and Witten won the first set 7–6.
Witten qualified into the2010 French Open but was defeated in the first round by the #25 seedMarcos Baghdatis 6–3, 6–4, 6–3.
Witten won the Metzger Tournament at Colonial,[3] and the 43rd annual City of Naples Tennis Championships at Cambier Park.[4] 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.
Witten won the2013 F15 futures at Indian Harbour Beach.[5]
Witten played in the USA F16 inTampa, Florida, and lost in the semi-finals toTennys Sandgren after beatingRhyne Williams in the quarter-finals.
At the Israel F7 ITF tournament, Witten reached the semi-finals and lost to fellow AmericanNicolas Meister. He won his 3rd Metzger Open.
Witten defeated Collin Johns 6–2 and 6–3 to win his 4th Metzger Open Championship.[6]
Witten achieved his 3rd Metzger Open Championship in a row this year, and 5th in total.
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.
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 theUniversity of South Florida and works in Florida as a laboratory director.[7] Witten likes every type of sport and is a bigMiami Heat andFlint Tropics fan. He has his own tennis academy in his hometown of Naples.