PredictionGame
Tournaments this week




How the Williams sisters gave rise to the Jenkins brothers

All Tennis, All the Time
Post Reply New Topic
User avatar
Ace2Ace
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts:24311
Joined:Sep Tue 14, 2004 11:49 pm
How the Williams sisters gave rise to the Jenkins brothers

Post by Ace2Ace » Sep Thu 05, 2019 11:00 am

As Serena Williams pushes toward her quest for a record-tying 24 Grand Slams, the impact of the Williams sisters can be seen in the rising young tennis stars who idolize them.

But the Williams sisters’ groundbreaking contributions to tennis go beyond their on-court achievements. They have also helped emerging young talent in the coaching ranks by giving them a chance to work on their teams.

Jermaine Jenkins, who was a former hitting partner for Venus Williams, is now Naomi Osaka’s coach. His brother, Jarmere, is Serena Williams’ current hitting partner — yes, Jarmere Jenkins is that guy sitting next to her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, in Serena Williams’ box.
....
....
“I was that kid who would just hang around the tennis courts and be like, ‘Are you done with your match? Hit with me. Can you hit with me now? Now?’ ” Jarmere Jenkins said.

Jermaine Jenkins, now 34 years old, and Jarmere Jenkins, 28, have always been highly competitive.

“As a kid, I saw how good my older brother was getting. And I was kind of like, ‘All right, I’ve gotta do better than him,’ ” Jarmere Jenkins said.

Jermaine Jenkins landed a full ride to Clemson University, where he became an All-American. It was there he also learned the tenets of coaching under the legendary Chuck Kriese. Possessing a levelheaded nature, Jenkins was encouraged by members of the staff to pursue coaching.

Through some college connections, Jenkins got a tryout to be a hitting partner for Venus Williams in 2016. “It was supposed to be for two weeks; I ended up staying three years,” Jenkins recalled.
...
...
When Venus Williams fired her longtime coach David Witt this past offseason, Jenkins was part of that shake-up. But it didn’t take long for Jenkins, who said he parted with Venus Williams on good terms, to find another job. Kathy Rinaldi, the USTA’s head of player development for women’s tennis, called Jenkins soon afterward about working with Coco Gauff. He was “thrilled for the challenge” to work with the young prodigy and traveled with Gauff until late February, when Osaka’s team contacted him.
....
....
When Serena Williams needed a new hitting partner upon her return from maternity leave, she saw how rock steady Jenkins was with her sister. She asked Jenkins if he knew of anyone like him. Jenkins immediately recommended his brother.
https://theundefeated.com/features/sere ... -brothers/

sekasi
Accomplished
Accomplished
Posts:2670
Joined:Aug Mon 25, 2008 6:10 am

Re: How the Williams sisters gave rise to the Jenkins brothers

Post by sekasi » Sep Thu 05, 2019 11:08 am

Interesting. So Jenkins left Coco for Naomi? Understandable.

Post Reply