Timothy Ernest Gullikson (September 8, 1951 – May 3, 1996) was a

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player and coach who was born in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...

and grew up in

Onalaska, Wisconsin Onalaska ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 18,803 at the 2020 census. It borders the larger La Crosse, Wisconsin, and is a part of the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Area. Onalaska is buil ...

in the United States. Gullikson was

Pete Sampras Pete Sampras (born August 12, 1971) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the A ...

' coach from 1992 to 1995.

Tennis career

In 1977, he won three tour singles titles and was named the ATP'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 Gullikson Tom Gullikson (born September 8, 1951) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player born in La Crosse, Wisconsin and raised in Onalaska, Wisconsin in the United States. Career During his career as a player, Gullikson won 15 ATP recogn ...

. The brothers were runners-up in the Men's Doubles competition at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

in 1983. Tim won a total of four top-level singles titles and reached the quarter-finals of the 1979 Wimbledon Championships, beating Mike Cahill,

Tomáš Šmíd Tomáš Šmíd (born 20 May 1956) is a former tennis player from Czechoslovakia, who won nine singles titles during his career. In doubles, he won 54 titles and was world No. 1 in doubles from December 17, 1984, to August 11, 1985. The right-hand ...

, Cliff Letcher and

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...

in the fourth round, before losing to

Roscoe Tanner Leonard Roscoe Tanner (born October 15, 1951) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 on July 30, 1979. Tanner won 16 titles throughout his career. Tanner was famous for his big ...

. His career-high rankings were World No. 15 in singles (in 1979) and World No. 3 in doubles (in 1983).

Retirement and death

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 Navratilova Martina Navratilova (, ; ; born October18, 1956) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, singles for 332 weeks (List of WTA number ...

, Mary Joe Fernández and Aaron Krickstein. Gullikson coached

from the start of 1992 until 1995, during which time Sampras won four Grand Slam singles titles and reached the World No. 1 ranking. In late 1994, Gullikson had several seizures while touring with Sampras in Europe. The seizures were mistakenly traced to a congenital heart problem after German neurologists discovered a blood clot in his brain in December 1994. Gullikson insisted on accompanying Sampras to the Australian Open in January 1995 to help Sampras defend his title there, but collapsed during a practice session following another seizure. After tests at a Melbourne hospital proved inconclusive, Gullikson was sent home to Chicago for further testing, and the worried Sampras cried during his quarterfinal match against

Jim Courier James Spencer Courier (born August 17, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 58 ...

. Sampras dedicated that event – where he was runner-up to

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 101 ...

– and all future events to his "great good friend" and mentor. Gullikson was later diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. Sampras went on to win 14 slams in his career, the remaining nine coming when Paul Annacone was his coach, Gullikson's successor. Gullikson died in May 1996 at his home in Wheaton, Illinois. After his death, his identical twin brother Tom formed the Tim and 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.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 runner-up)

Career statistics

Grand Slam performance timeline

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gullikson, Tim 1951 births 1996 deaths American male tennis players American tennis coaches Deaths from brain cancer in Illinois Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Identical twin males Sportspeople from La Crosse, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Wheaton, Illinois 20th-century American sportsmen Tennis players from Wisconsin People from Onalaska, Wisconsin US Open (tennis) champions American identical twins