Novak Djokovic’s ‘tennis father’ Nikola Pilic dies at 86 – and he leaves a remarkable legacy
Nikola Pilic, a former Croatian tennis star and coach who left an indelible mark on the sport, has died at the age of 86.
According to reports in the Croatian media, Pilic passed away in the Croatian city of Rijeka on Tuesday September 23.
Pilic, who was born in the Croatian (then Yugoslavian) city of Split on 27 August 1939, played amateur tennis from 1960 and turned pro when the Open Era began in 1968
He won nine singles titles and was ranked as high as 12th in the ATP Rankings in 1973. His standout singles result was reaching the final of the 1973 French Open, which he lost to Ilie Nastase.
The Croatian also won six doubles titles, including the 1970 US Open, before retiring in 1978.
Pilic’s absence from a Davis Cup tie between Yugoslavia and New Zealand in May 1973 led to a suspension from the ILTF (now ITF), meaning he could not enter the 1973 Wimbledon Championships.
In protest against Pilic’s ban, 81 players formed the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and withdrew from that year’s edition of Wimbledon.
This remains the biggest protest in tennis history, and the ATP Tour has become the global governing body of men’s tennis.
Following his retirement, Pilic ran a tennis academy in Munich, where he mentored a host of players, including Novak Djokovic, Michael Stich, Goran Ivanisevic and Ernests Gulbis. He also coached Boris Becker.
In addition, Pilic achieved the remarkable feat of captaining three different countries to Davis Cup titles: Germany (1988, 1989 and 1993), Croatia (2005) and Serbia (2010).
Djokovic, who is considered by many to be the greatest tennis player in history, attended Pilic’s academy for four years starting in 1999.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has credited the key role Pilic played in his development.
“Nikola is my tennis father. A mentor. A man who selflessly shared his knowledge and experience about tennis and life with me,” Djokovic was quoted as saying by Montenegrin news outlet Vijesti.
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“Niki’s lovely wife Mija and he welcomed me with open arms to their tennis academy in Germany and treated me like their own child.”
Pilic remained one of Djokovic’s biggest supporters and always took the opportunity to praise his former student when he spoke publicly.
In a 2024 interview with Novosti Rs, Pilic shared an anecdote about Djokovic from the Serb’s time at his academy.
“I once invited five players under the age of 15 to my office. I ask them what they want to achieve,” Pilic said.
“One says he would like to be a good tennis player, the other wants to play in the Bundesliga [tennis league]. And Novak said – I would like to be number one in the world!
“The other four laughed. I didn’t laugh. I didn’t know if it would be first, third, eleventh, or twenty-fourth, but, by all possible parameters, I knew it would be international class.”
Pilic added: “In the first few months, my wife Mija played an extremely large role.
“She felt he needed support. He was small, he came at the age of 13, and Serbia was bombed at that time in 1999.
“She said that Novak had clear eyes. She would say to me, ‘When he talks about tennis, he has sentences similar to yours.’
“He made a lot of progress, he was extremely focused. Every day he had 15 different ideas.”
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