Jackson Named USTA National Coach

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 25th June 2013

Jackson Named USTA National Coach |

USTA Player Development announced today that Jamea Jackson has been hired as a USTA National Coach, Women’s Tennis. Jackson will work with players in the USTA Player Development program out of the USTA Training Center – Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., under Head of Women’s Tennis Ola Malmqvist. Jackson is set to join the coaching staff on July 1.

Jackson, 26, was ranked as high as No. 45 in the world, at the age of 20, before a recurring hip injury forced her to retire before turning 23. She beat several players who would become world No. 1s, including Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic. Jackson represented the U.S. in Fed Cup twice and won both of her singles rubbers in the United States’ 2006 World Group First Round victory over Germany, including a defeat of then-No. 14 Anna-Lena Groenefeld. She played in 11 Grand Slam main draws, and, as a junior, was ranked in the top 20 of the world junior rankings.

Jackson spent the last four years as an assistant women’s tennis coach at Oklahoma State, and was a coach of the USTA Collegiate Team, an elite training program for the nation’s best collegians, in 2010 and 2011. An Atlanta native, Jackson’s father, Ernie, was an NFL cornerback for the Saints, Falcons and Lions. Her mother, Ruby, is a retired flight attendant who authored the book, “Flying High: Diary of a Flight Attendant.”