Retirement
After retiring from the professional tour in 1986, Gullikson continued to play tennis in seniors events, winning the 35-over singles title at Wimbledon in 1991.
After retiring as a player, Gullikson turned his talents to coaching. He worked with several professional players, including Martina Navratilova, Mary Joe Fernandez and Aaron Krickstein. Gullikson is probably best remembered for his work with Pete Sampras, who won four Grand Slam singles titles and reached the World No. 1 ranking during the period Gullikson was his coach from the start of 1992 until 1995.
Gullikson suffered a series of strokes while touring with Sampras in the fall of 1994, which were mistakenly traced to a congenital heart problem after German neurologists discovered a blood clot in his brain in December 1994. Gullikson insisted on accompanying Sampras to the Australian Open in January 1995 to help Sampras defend his title there, but Gullikson collapsed during a practice session. After tests at a Melbourne hospital proved inconclusive, Gullikson was sent home to Chicago for further testing, and the worried Sampras cried during his quarter final match against Jim Courier when a fan called out for Sampras to win the match for Tim. Sampras dedicated that event, where he was runner-up to Andre Agassi, and all future events to his "great good friend" and mentor. Gullikson was later diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer.
Sampras went on to win fourteen slams in his career, the remaining nine coming when Paul Annacone was his coach, Gullikson's successor.
Gullikson died in May 1996. After his death, his identical twin brother Tom formed the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation, which funds programs to help brain tumor patients and their families with the physical, emotional and social challenges presented by the disease.
Read more about this topic: Tim Gullikson
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