‘Blessed to Have In My Life’ – Borna Coric Mourns the Sudden Demise of His 41-Year-Old Former Coach

The former coach of the Croatian tennis player Borna Coric, Kristijan Schneider passed away at the age of 41. After battling cancer for the second time, the coach finally said goodbye to the tennis world. After the passing of his former coach, Coric recently posted a heartfelt message on his social media. 

Borna Coric says goodbye to his former coach Kristijan Schneider

In 2019, the Croatian tennis player Coric announced on Twitter that he will be without his coach for the rest of the season due to some health issues. After diagnosis, coach Schneider found out that he had colon cancer. Later surgically removing the cancer, he came back to the tennis court to do coaching again. 

Two years after that incident, Schneider was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and this time he had to go through the chemotherapy process. After battling through it for a long time, he finally passed away. 

Meanwhile, Borna Coric posted a beautiful message on his Instagram in memory of his coach. “Rest in peace my friend and my coach. I was blessed to have you in my life,” he wrote on Instagram. 

The Croatian coach probably had the biggest impact on Coric’s career. Under his coaching, he reached a career-high 12 in the ATP rankings in 2018. Since then, Coric also had his fair share of injury problems. After a long-term injury, he finally returned to Indian Wells this year. Currently, the player is playing at a challenger tournament in Rome before his Grand Slam return to the French Open. 

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Other players react to the tragic news

Meanwhile, after recovering from his first cancer,  Schneider returned to coaching and became the new coach of Serbian WTA player, Olga Danilovic. Previously, Schneider also coached Ana Konjuh. Ana also shared an emotional post on Instagram. In the caption, she wrote, “I’m lost for words. Until we meet again, save me a hug up there. Rest in peace Kiki.”

American tennis star Frances Tiafoe commented on Konjuh’s post, as he wrote, “Had nothing but love and respect for you Kiki. Thankful for our friendship.”

Tunisian tennis player, Ons Jabeur, also tweeted, “Rest In Peace Kiki… sorry for your loss .”

Notably, most people on the tour called him ‘Kiki’. 

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