Borna Coric pays tribute to former coach Kristijan Schneider who dies at 41

Borna Coric paid tribute to his former coach Kristijan Schneider, who passed away at the age of 41.

In an Instagram post, the Croat said he was "blessed" to have had Schneider in his life.

"Rest in peace my friend and my coach. I was blessed to have you in my life," Coric captioned his Instagram post.

The Croatian Tennis Association announced Schneider's death, stating that he lost his battle against a "serious illness."

"Sad news for the tennis family: Kristijan Schneider has died after a serious illness," a statement on the HTS' official website read. "One of our most famous coaches, the favorite Kiki everywhere, lost the hardest battle against a vicious disease.

"He was the coach of many tennis stars, such as Borna Ćorić and Ana Konjuh, recently participated in winning the junior Australian Open Petra Marčinko, and also worked with Bernard Pero, Olga Danilović… Unfortunately, Kiki's life ended prematurely, at the age of 41. Kiki, thank you for everything you gave to tennis and was what you are. We express our deepest condolences to the family."

Kristijan Schneider also coached Ana Konjuh. The World No. 66 paid tribute to Schneider on Instagram, posting a picture of the two of them hugging.

"I'm lost for words. Until we meet again, save me a hug up there. Rest in peace Kiki," she captioned her post.

Borna Coric's season so far

Borna Coric hits a forehand

Borna Coric, who reached World No. 12 in 2018, suffered a few injuries in the years that followed. He missed a chunk of the 2021 season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

The 25-year-old returned to the ATP tour at the Indian Wells Masters this season. But he suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina despite winning the first set. He won his first match of the season against Fernando Verdasco in the opening round of the Miami Masters.

The Croat faced Alexander Zverev in the second round and pushed the German to three sets before going down 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Coric then competed at the Monte-Carlo Masters and lost to ninth seed Jannik Sinner in the first round, but not before taking a set off the Italian as well.

Coric will be determined to stay injury-free and regain the form that saw him beat Roger Federer twice in a row in 2018.