Ponte Vedra’s Witt, Coach of Venus Williams, USTA’s Ramos Receive USOC Honors

David Witt

David Witt of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and Dave Ramos of Orlando were this week honored by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) as USTA National Coach of the Year and USTA Doc Councilman of the Year respectively for their contributions to tennis in 2016.

Witt is the coach of Venus Williams, and Ramos the manager of coaching, education and performance for the USTA.

“The 2016 USOC Award recipients represent the best and brightest of Team USA,” said USTA Player Development General Manager Martin Blackman. “David Witt’s professionalism and skill as a professional coach, working with Venus Williams, has been a great example for aspiring pro coaches around the country…David Ramos’ work in leading USTA Player Development’s Analytics Team has established him as one of the best analysts in the world.”

Also honored were Henner Nehles, USTA Co-Developmental Coach of the Year; Mike Gennette, USTA Co-Developmental Coach of the Year; and Dan James, USTA Paralympic Coach of the Year.

Dave Ramos

Ramos created and manages the USTA Athlete Management System (AMS) and also established the Data Analytics Program, which includes both tactical and technical analysis and match scouting, based at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. His data findings have generated injury prevention methods and scouting reports for more than 100 of the top national and professional players and coaches. Ramos’ scouting data was used at the U.S. Davis Cup, Fed Cup, US Open and Wimbledon spread over 1,200 matches of both U.S. and international players. Ramos utilizes PlaySight technology and virtual reality to further tennis innovation at the USTA National Campus.
 
Witt served as the full-time coach of five-time Olympic medalist Venus Williams in 2016, during which she captured the silver medal in mixed doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Under Witt’s guidance, Williams’ 2016 Grand Slam tour consisted of an appearance in the 2016 Wimbledon semifinals, her first semifinal appearance in six years. Williams also achieved her highest ranking in five years after her appearance in the final of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif.

For more info go to www.usta.com/news.