Player Development Coach Profile: Jermaine Jenkins

After a standout four-year playing career at Clemson University, which included All-American honors and an NCAA tournament quarterfinal run, Jenkins competed on the professional circuit before taking a coaching job at a tennis club in Pennsylvania. The position allowed him to continue to train and compete as his schedule permitted while also earning money to support his travel to tournaments. Eventually, Jenkins retired from the pro tour and transitioned into coaching full-time.

His coaching career allowed him to relocate to several cities, including Charlottesville, Va., and Orlando, Fla. It also gave him the opportunity to travel with his younger brother, Jarmere, as he was making his tour debut.

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Jenkins first met Venus and her then-coach, David Witt, at Roland Garros in 2015, where he was working with Jarmere. Three months later, Venus invited Jenkins to join her as a hitting partner during a two-week training block ahead of the US Open.

“When I’m coaching, even to this day, I still like to hit with my players as much as my youth allows me to. I want to be able to still hit with the players, push the players, feel what they're feeling. It just gives you more of a connection with your player—and respect.”

Following his time with Venus, Jenkins joined USTA Player Development as a women’s national coach in January 2019. But his initial stint at the USTA National Campus in Orlando was short-lived, as a major opportunity presented itself shortly after he joined the organization.

Osaka, the world No. 1 and reigning US Open and Australian Open champ at the time, unexpectedly split with her former coach, Sascha Bajin. Through a mutual friend, Jenkins was sounded out for the role. With the blessing of Kathy Rinaldi, Player Development’s head of women’s tennis, he accepted the high-profile position.

It was Jenkins’ first head coaching role, and it came during a period that saw Osaka’s emergence as a global superstar. As a result, intense pressure and expectation was placed on both player and coach.

“USTA Player Development is the best of both worlds. You’re still in a competitive environment, but you have the ability to openly share ideas with a larger team of coaches. The environment is centered more around education, professional growth and personal development. It also has a family feel, which makes everything better.”

Having previously worked with some of the top players in the women’s game, Jenkins’ current role with PD gives him the opportunity to help develop the next generation of elite American talent. Among many other young players, he has worked extensively with Reese Brantmeier, who trains full-time at the USTA National Campus, as well as Clervie Ngounoue, who splits her time between the Campus and the Mourataglou Tennis Academy in France. He’s also worked with Robin Montgomery, the 2021 US Open girls’ singles and doubles champion, in a supplemental role in years past.

Jenkins was also selected travel to the Tokyo Olympics this summer as the assistant women’s coach for Team USA. But he had to leave early for an even more important event—the birth of his first-born child.

As has often been the case in his tennis career, his timing was just right. His wife was admitted to the hospital just as he touched down in the U.S., and their baby boy was born on Aug. 3.