‘Rest in Peace’ – Heartbroken Billie Jean King Mourns 75-YO Renowned Tennis Coach’s Tragic Death

Renowned British tennis coach Alan Jones passed away recently at the age of 75 years due to a short illness. His contributions towards the sport were enormous. He has coached generations of players and influenced the lives of many tennis players throughout his tenure as a coach. His sudden demise has brought the tennis world to join hands and pay their condolences to his family. American tennis legend, Billie Jean King also penned down a heartfelt note on her X (formerly Twitter) account for this tennis great.

Jones was the longest-serving performance coach from Great Britain. He has been coaching performance tennis for over 53 years and during his time, Alan has coached 33 British players who later went on to play at Wimbledon. Alan Jones has played a huge role in shaping the future of tennis in Great Britain. He has in fact coached seven British women players who later on went on to become world number one. His list of students includes Jo Durie 5 WTA, Elena Baltacha 49 WTA, Laura Robson 27 WTA, Jeremy Bates 54 ATP, Anne Keothavong 48 WTA.

Recently Jo Durie took to Twitter to announce the sudden demise of her long-time coach, mentor, and friend. She called him “A giant in the tennis world.” Billie Jean King shared that post on her Twitter account and wrote, “Our sport has lost a passionate and dedicated coach. I always looked forward to catching up with Alan at Wimbledon. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. May he rest in peace.” Jones was currently working as the head coach of Junior Elite Tennis.

He has always thrived on the inherent challenge of creating better people through their passion for the racket sport. The passion, the love, the commitment he had for the sport was parallel to none. So, this news has come down as a bolt from the blue for many in the tennis world. Here are some more reactions that came in for this legendary coach.

Former American tennis player reacts to the death of Jones

After Billie Jean King, the 61-year-old American former tennis player and current tennis broadcaster, pundit and coach, Pam Shriver reacted to this tragic news. She wrote, “RIP Alan!” in the comments section of Jo Durie’s post. Even Australian former tennis player and 22-time Grand Slam champion (combining doubles and mixed doubles) Todd Woolbridge paid his tribute to this legendary coach. He wrote, “Sorry Jo, Alan was always a positive chat whenever you saw him at the courts!” under Durie’s post.

British tennis players Tara Moore and Jessica Weeks also gave their reaction to Jo Durie’s post. David Law, the co-host of ‘The Tennis Podcast’ also paid his tribute to Alan Jones leaving a short message on that post. Share your thoughts on the contributions of Alan Jones to the tennis world.

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