Niki Pilić obituary | Tennis

Niki Pilić, who has died aged 86, unwittingly wrote himself into the history of professional tennis by becoming the focal point of the Wimbledon boycott of 1973, when 81 players withdrew on the eve of the Championships.

Pilić was also a unique Davis Cup player and captain in that he played for Yugoslavia before leading three different nations – Germany, Croatia and Serbia – to triumph between 1993 and 2010. After establishing a coaching academy in Munich, Pilić also oversaw the development of a 12-year old called Novak Djokovic for the next four years of the future championâ€s life.

Despite these achievements, it is his involvement in the Wimbledon boycott for which this tall, opinionated left-hander will be remembered. Open tennis, which finally allowed professionals to compete with amateurs, had arrived in 1968, but politically the game was still in chaos in 1973 when Pilić was selected to play Davis Cup for Yugoslavia in May. Hitting at the nuts and bolts of the whole problem, Pilić informed his federation, whose president was his uncle, that he would not be able to do so because he was a professional and had signed to play in the World Championship Tennis (WCT) doubles finals with his Australian partner, Allan Stone.

Putting family ties aside, the federation promptly suspended Pilić for nine months, which would prevent him playing the French Open and Wimbledon. Cliff Drysdale, who was the ATP Tourâ€s first president, quickly picked up on locker room talk and found a mood of considerable militancy. “The players were sick to the teeth of being dictated to by amateur officials,†said Drysdale. “Niki was not the most popular player on tour but, almost to a man, they were prepared to support him because they saw it as a golden opportunity to make a stand.â€

A very long story, which became front page news in the British press in the week prior to Wimbledon, eventually resulted in the ATP board narrowly voting to pull its players out of the Wimbledon draw hours after it had been made on the Friday morning. It became dubbed “the Pilić affair†and the man himself was surprised at the fuss he had created. By the weekend he had flown home to escape the media. “But Niki knew exactly what was going on and was not shy of the limelight,†Drysdale added. “He was more academically inclined than most players and got his politics right. We disagreed over what would happen to Yugoslavia when president Tito died. Niki said it would fall apart. I doubted that but he was right.â€

Pilic was never short of opinions and often amused his fellow players with boasts like “Only two people drive Mercedes in Yugoslavia – Tito and me!†But if that was harmless, he had Arthur Ashe choking over his cereal one day at breakfast in Bologna when he announced that “The wife – she is there to serve husband!†After a gulp of tea, Ashe replied: “Niki – you canâ€t say that! This is the 20th century!â€

Born in the coastal Croatian city of Split to Danica Tomić-Ferić and Krsto Pilić, Niki (Nikola) started playing tennis at a small club with six courts that went on to become the childhood training ground for an amazing number of top players – French Open finalist Željko Franulović, the Wimbledon champion Goran IvaniÅ¡ević and Mario AnÄić, who reached a ranking of world No 7.

On the red clay courts, Pilić quickly used his athletic frame to start making a mark in junior tennis. His left-handed serve with its low toss remained a major weapon as he rose to the top of the game, and his forehand was fearsome.

He found the perfect partner in a youngster from Zagreb called Boro Jovanović, who compensated for a smaller stature with great consistency, and the pair soon made themselves known by reaching the Wimbledon doubles final in 1962, where they lost to Fred Stolle and Bob Hewitt. In 1967, Pilić scored one of his most memorable victories in singles by beating the two time champion Roy Emerson on his way to the Wimbledon semi-final before turning pro and becoming a member of “The Handsome Eight†– the first players signed up by Texas entrepreneur Lama Hunt for his WCT tour.

By 1970 Pilić was established as a player who was capable of beating anyone in singles or doubles. After winning the singles title on grass at Bristol with victories over Tom Okker, John Newcombe and Rod Laver in the final, the Yugoslav took on a new partner in the French No 1 Pierre Barthès, and they promptly won the US Open at Forest Hills by beating Newcombe and Laver in the final.

Setting up his academy in Munich soon led to Pilić being appointed West German Davis Cup captain at the time when Boris Becker, having won Wimbledon at 17 in 1985, led his nation to their first ever Cup triumphs in 1988 and 89, with Pilić in the chair. It was notable that Pilić was able to gain Beckerâ€s trust as well as the next German star, Michael Stich, who helped win Germany the Cup in 1993. Becker and Stich were not close friends but Pilić coached both with great success.

At his academy, Pilić was cautious in his choice of students and at first rejected the appeal of Jelena GenÄić, Djokovicâ€s childhood coach, to accept him at the age of 12 in Munich. “But Niki was unbelievable in reading the potential of players,†the future world No 3 Ivan LjubiÄić told the Djokovic biographer Chris Bowers. “He saw that Novak was mentally ready from the beginning.â€

Pilić was married to the actor Mija Adamović. She survives him, along with their daughter, Danijela, and son, Niko.

Niki (Nikola) Pilić, tennis player and coach, born 27 August 1939; died 22 September 2025

Niki Pilić, second from left in the top row, with the victorious West Germany Davis Cup team in 1993. Photograph: Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo/Alamy

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