Tennis News: Jessica Pegula and Jannik Sinner

Jessica Pegula does not make changes much. This is likely because she takes a pragmatic approach to her career and treats it with the wise business mind she has. She sometimes comes across as a bit dull compared to her contemporaries such as Aryna Sabalenka, but Pegula is not dull. She is simply very measured in most things she does.

This is why a recent coaching change away from David Witt was a bit surprising. Witt had been coaching the American since 2019 and the two had shared the highest of Pegula's tennis successes, including winning two Masters 1000s. Pegula also rose to No. 3 on the WTA tour in 2022, a personal best.

But in a press conference held before the start of Indian Wells, the first Masters 1000 of 2024, Pegula answered questions about moving on from Witt and she used the same word again and again. That word was "change." In fact, had there been a drinking game going on for the word at the time of the press conference, many people would have been intoxicated.

Jessica Pegula talks coaching changes and Jannik Sinner kicks the ball with Rafael Nadal's son

Pegula said, "More or less, it was just me wanting to make a change and I felt like it came pretty naturally. It wasn’t anything bad, it was just more me starting a little bit of a new chapter in my career...I kind of wanted to change things up and I think being uncomfortable makes you learn new things and pushes you in new directions and can be really helpful."

Jessica Pegula is 30 years old now and closer to the end of her career than the beginning. She remains a top-ten-ranked player and is a fantastic doubles player as well. She could continue to have the same kind of success she has had for a few years and be happy, but with the end getting closer now was the time to make a, well...change. And that is why Pegula moved on from David Witt.

In completely different, and more fun, news, ahead of Indian Wells, Jannik Sinner was kicking a soccer ball around. He was joined shortly thereafter by Rafael Nadal's wife and their nearly 2-year-old. Instead of Sinner leaving the pitch and getting back to tennis, the young Italian chose to kick the ball with the young Nadal. And Nadal's child was pretty decent for a toddler.

Of course, Rafael Nadal's uncle, Miguel, was a very good player and spent time with Barcelona during the "dream team" era. Rafa's son has good genes for soccer, sure. But how awesome is Jannik Sinner that he would take time away from a likely busy schedule to kick the ball around with a 1-year-old? Just another reason to be a Sinner fan.

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