Timothy Ernest "Tim" Gullikson (September 8, 1951-May 3, 1996) was a
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
player and coach who was born in
La Crosse, WisconsinLa Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The city lies alongside the Mississippi River.The population of La Crosse was 51,818 at the 2000 census. Its 2008 final population estimate was 51,840...
in the United States.
In 1977, he won three tour singles titles and was named the
ATPThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the principal worldwide tennis tour for men, the ATP Tour, which was renamed in January 2009 and is now known as the ATP World Tour...
's Newcomer of the Year. During his career as a tennis player, Gullikson won 15 top-level doubles titles, ten of them partnering with his identical twin brother,
Tom GulliksonTom Gullikson is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from the United States.-Career:...
. The brothers were runners-up in the men's doubles competition at Wimbledon in 1983. Tim also won a total of four top-level singles titles. His career-high rankings were World No. 15 in singles (in 1979) and World No. 6 in doubles (in 1984). After retiring from the professional tour in 1986, Gullikson continued to play tennis in seniors events, winning the 35-over singles title at Wimbledon in 1991.
After retiring as a player, Gullikson turned his talents to coaching. He worked with several professional players, including
Martina NavratilovaMartina Navrátilová is a Czech-American tennis player. A former World No. 1...
,
Mary Joe FernandezMary Joe Fernandez Godsick is a former professional tennis player from the United States and is of Spanish and Cuban descent...
and
Aaron KricksteinAaron Krickstein is a former American professional tennis player, who competed on the ATP Tour from 1983 to 1996. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he currently competes on the Outback Champions Series Over-30 tour....
. Gullikson is probably best remembered for his work with
Pete SamprasPete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former World No. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles, and had a 203–38 win-loss record over 52 Grand Slam singles tournament appearances....
, who won six
Grand SlamThe four Grand Slam tournaments, also called the Majors, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, and public attention. They are: Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open...
singles titles and reached the World No. 1 ranking during the period Gullikson was his coach.
At the beginning of 1995, Tim was diagnosed with brain tumors. He suffered a stroke during the
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from then up to 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard...
, where he was coaching Sampras, and had to fly back to the United States during the tournament. Sampras was famously overcome by emotion during the fifth set of his quarter-final match against
Jim CourierJames Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. is a former world number one professional tennis player from the United States...
, after a fan called out to Sampras to win the match for Tim. Despite fighting back tears for much of the fifth set, Sampras managed to win the match.
Gullikson died in May 1996. After his death, his identical twin brother Tom formed the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation, which funds programs to help brain tumor patients and their families with the physical, emotional and social challenges presented by the disease.
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