Borna Coric took to social media to pay respect to his former coach, Kristijan Schneider, who passed away after an unsuccessful battle with cancer.
Schneider was a prominent tennis coach within the Croatian tennis federation, working with many of their players over the years. He also worked privately as a coach and spent the majority of his time with Coric, whom he coached up to nearly a Top 10 in the ATP Rankings.
More recently, the 41-year-old had been battling the disease, diagnosed earlier in the year with a prognosis that hinted at recovery. During this time, Schneider continued to mentor Coric despite the physical and emotional toll of dealing with such a condition.
Like many player-coach relationships, Coric and Schneider's relationship was also more than a professional one. The two developed a friendship, which made recent months very challenging for the Croatian tennis player.
Only recently did the news of Schneider's passing break out. The Croatian Tennis Federation released a statement announcing the sad news.
"Kristijan Schneider has died after a serious illness. One of our most famous coaches, the favourite Kiki everywhere, lost the hardest battle against a vicious disease. He was the coach of many tennis stars, such as Borna Coric and Ana Konjuh."
"He recently participated (supported) junior Australian Open winner Petra Marcinko, and also worked with Bernarda Pera, Olga Danilovic…"
"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 in this way."
After the news broke out, Coric almost immediately shared a picture of the two on his Instagram profile, mourning the passing of his former coach, but as he called him, also a friend.
"Rest in peace my friend and my coach. I was blessed to have you in my life."