08/01/2021
PTCA loses its president, the sports world loses an icon
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing away of our President Bob Brett on January 5, 2021 in his home country Australia at the age of 67, having lost his battle against a severe illness.
For nearly five decades Bob was serving professional tennis as an inspiring coach and mentor, with an unmatched passion for our sport, an unmovable dedication to performance and an overwhelming authenticity in his vision that made him so genuinely convincing both in his relationship with his players and colleagues as well as in articulating the future he saw for the tennis sport.
To many of us coaches and to many players he was a true, humble and dear friend. He never sought the spotlight for himself but was always looking for the development of the individuals he has been working with.
In recognition of his unique personality and the contribution he has made to our sport, he was honored in 2013 with the highest PTCA Life Time Unicorn Award in Seefeld/Austria, handed over by the PTCA founding member Mats Wilander.
In November 2020, he was selected by the ATP Coach Committee as the recipient of the ATP Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award.
Bob succeeded in his life and as a coach against all odds, starting as a ball boy passionate about tennis when he joined the legendary Harry Hopmans in his Academy in 1974. He grasped the opportunity to watch great talents both on the coaching and on the players side at work and with his sensitivity picked up what became his unique skillset and philosophy of coaching.
An uncompromisable work ethic, patience and commitment to the goal to achieve consistency and resilience were imperative parts of Bob’s trademark which will remain forever his legacy. His belief in forming the character of the player colored his style of work and made him much more than a coach. Bob was someone who truly bonded with people and you couldn’t cross his path without being captivated by his charismatic personality.
Bob Brett worked with many top-class professional players. Some of the most famous names were Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic. But also players like Nicolas Kiefer, Juha Kriek and later Marin Cilic made exceptional results in the time when they were working with Bob.
From 2014-2020 Bob Brett was the president of the Professional Tennis Coaches Association (PTCA®). During this time PTCA has undergone a great development and is now represented in USA, Scandinavia, Australia, UK, India, Singapore and China. Bobs work helped PTCA moving forward and make its mark as the leading association for professional tennis coaches worldwide.
PTCA is forever grateful of the commitment and effort Bob put at the service of our common vision. We will honor Bob’s legacy, on the Tour and within our association, in the values and the vision we pursue in the world of tennis.
Farewell Bob, we deeply miss you!
In deep gratitude
Your fellows at the PTCA
Photo: Bob Brett receives the PTCA life time „Unicorn“ award from Mats Wilander and Hakan Dahlbo in 2013.
