The Tennis World Farewell to Niki Pilic | ATP Journey

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The world of tennis bid farewell to Niki Pilic

Former Roland Garros finalist was the trigger of Wimbledon boycott in 1973

September 23, 2025

Nikola Pilic, who died Monday at the age of 86, left an indelible mark in the tennis world as a player, coach, captain and tournament director.

That’s Pilic’s legacy, and some people today will remember the highest point of his career as a 1973 Roland Garros finalist, when Pilic found himself in the middle of a sports and political storm that led to Wimbledon’s boycott a month later.

Or the prized memories of captains of Germany, Croatia and Serbia as Davis Cup; he served as long-time tournament director and reformer, helped future generations, or served as mentor and coach for Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Goran Ivanisevic, and his influence in the development of young Novak Djokovic, now a 24-time Grand Slam champion.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “We are very sad about the death of Niki Pilic, the real pioneer of our movement. His contributions to many characters have lasting influence on players, fans and the game itself and are particularly important in the history of ATP. He will be missed a lot.

Nikola Pilic in Wimbledon in 1970. “style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com//media/media/images/media/images/media/images/news/2025/2025/2025/209/23/16/16/16/16/19/pilic-wimbledon-1970.jpg>
^{Nikola Pilic at Wimbledon in 1970}

Pilic has achieved a lot in eighty years. It was not until the summer of 1952 that he was 13 years old that he started playing tennis: first at the Firule Club, and then between his studies in shipbuilding and later government management. Within four years, he represented Yugoslavia’s junior team and had five national singles and seven doubles titles, and sent out a huge serve and forehand, which became a weapon of fear.

In his game career, bridging the amateur and open era, Pilic is world-class, joining Boro Jovanovic in the 1962 Wimbledon Tag-Final, defeating Roy Emerson and reaching the semi-finals of the All Endland Club in 1967. As the sport went open to amateur and professional players, Pilic joined the ‘Handsome Eight’ of Lamar Hunt’s group, World Championship Tennis (WCT), in 1968, alongside Dennis Ralston, John Newcombe, Tony Roche, Cliff Drysdale, Earl Buchholz, Roger Taylor and Pierre Barthes.

However, in May 1973, Pilic and all players had the right to choose when and when to play, when Yugoslav Tennis Federation suspended Pilic for nine months due to failure to play against New Zealand’s Davis Cup in Zagreb.

Just as Pilic left the court after finishing second in the finals at Ilie Nastase, he announced that the International Tennis Federation maintained a suspension. The emergency meeting lowered the suspension to one month, with Italian and German openings, and Wimbledon’s first week.

In the process of building the championship, it is obvious that, like British journalist David Gray wrote, the association of tennis professionals attempts to “restrict all Englean clubs and ITFs from banning him from his freedom of movement by seeking bans,” could fail. ”Did it.

Nikola Pilic, Cliff Drysdale, Arthur Ashe and Jack Kramer outside the High Court in London in June 1973.” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/09/23/16/20/pilic-london-1973.jpg”>
^{From left to right: June 1973, Nikola Pilic, Cliff Drysdale, Arthur Ashe and Jack Cramer}

Compromise was proposed, but eventually 81 male players voted to withdraw from Wimbledon, as members of the ATP were only established in September 1972, and he hoped to take a more professional approach to the organization of the Tournament. This was the establishment of the Association of Tennis Professionals led by players and will later join forces with the tournament directors to form the ATP Tour in 1990.

Stan Smith, 1972 Wimbledon champion and early ATP chairman, told Atptour.com: “Obviously, he was the trigger for Wimbledon’s boycott. We felt like a fledgling ATP and players should be able to play where they want. When they want it. We’re not because of who he is, but because he’s a good guy, because he’s a good guy, and we can be our victory.”

After retirement from the game, Pilic became a coach, helping Germany win three Davis Cup trophys in 1988, 1989 and 1993. He is also currently captaining Croatia and Serbia, winning championships in their respective 2005 and 2010.

“Nicky is a very talented player, and his serve and forehand are great weapons,” Smith said. “He’s also a good thinker and he’s close to winning some big tournaments.

Off the field, he has opinions on almost any topic and seems to have experience and knowledge in many areas. I took a plane with him once and he said the engine sounded abnormal and that could be dangerous. I asked him what he knew about the plane and he said, ‘I know these engines’. ”

ATP founding member and president Cliff Drysdale affectionately recalls Pilic. “Niki is a friend and I found him to be one of the most interesting players on the tour. He is smart, read, and is a man in principle. In a discussion we had, I laughed at him saying that Yugoslavia would collapse. He turned out to be right.

“He was part of the handsome eight and was part of the early ATP creation. Wimbledon strike was a catalyst that cuts us from a bunch of guys running around like chickens with fixed ATP cut off from the head.

“The boycott never had money.

Pilic has opened a tennis academy in Oberschleißheim near Munich, and has a high reputation in discipline and his tactical insights, which has helped him become a talented player. In 1999, Djokovic’s first coach, Jelena Gencic, sent her 12-year-old student there for three months.

Pilic married Serbian actress Mija Adamovic. Five years ago, he was awarded the gold medal for the Republic of Serbia.

Nikola Pilic, tennis player, coach, official, was born on August 27, 1939 and died on September 22, 2025.