Former collegiate All-American and recent hitting coach for Venus Williams, Jermaine Jenkins, has been named by USTA Player Development as a national coach for women's tennis. He will be coaching out of the USTA National Campus in Orlando, reporting to head of women's tennis Kathy Rinaldi.

 

Jenkins, 34, has served as Venus Williams' hitting coach since July 2015, a timeframe in which she reached the Australian Open and Wimbledon singles finals and ranked as high as No. 5 in the world. He has also spent time coaching Americans Gonzales Austin and Jarmere Jenkins, his younger brother who currently serves as a hitting partner for Serena Williams.

 

Jenkins starred at Clemson from 2003-07, where he was a team MVP and captain and earned doubles All-America honors in 2004.

 

The hire continues to strengthen the USTA Player Development department. ADVERTISEMENT Last October, former head of women’s tennis Ola Malmqvist was promoted to be its new director of coaching, while former Team USA lead national coach Rinaldi and director of player identification and development Kent Kinnear took over as head of women’s and men’s tennis, respectively.