10/27/2025
"Some players get over-dependable on their coaches."
- Romania's Ion Tiriac
I have always been a fan of Romania's Ion Tiriac. The former Olympic hockey player called himself the best tennis player in the world who was not a tennis player. With his unorthodox strokes, he won twenty-two doubles events on the world tour, and in singles, he went five sets with Rod Laver at the French in '69; a year Laver won one of his two Grand Slams.
He coached the best players in the world; Borg, Graf, and Vilas, to name a few. With his Romanian understudy, Ilie Nastase, he reached three Davis Cup finals. He started mentoring sixteen-year-old Boris Becker and a year later the German won Wimbledon.
Tiriac is the richest, past or present, tennis player in the world. He has made billions and, at one time, was richer than Michael Jordan. Maybe he still has more coin the MJ?
He grew up in a communist country, his father died when he was eleven and his mother worked in a factory. He made less than two million dollars as a player and within two years of the Berlin Wall coming down he made over a hundred million dollars.
In regard to competition, he once told a journalist during an interview, "I understand an old Romanian Proverb. Better your mother cry than to have my mother cry."
Through tennis, he had the opportunity to travel freely in the West and, as a result, understood capitalism. With guts and brains added to his insights into life outside of his homeland, he built a financial empire. Real estate, retail merchandise, auto dealerships, an airline, insurance, and the Madrid Open make up some of his revenue streams. In 1990, he established his own bank.
Ion Tiriac is one of the all-time characters in tennis to study. In conversation, he stops and corrects anyone who uses the word talent. He advises people to drop the word from their vocabulary. He advises players to have the mindset of a workhorse.
Money or materialistic possessions may not be the best way to motivate aspiring players yet the father of another hockey player did. Wayne Gretzky's father, Walter, told his son if he worked hard he could one day buy any car he wanted. Attached is a film of Ion Tiriac's car collection. Ion Tiriac did not depend on anyone but himself to be successful on-court or off-court.
Video: https://youtu.be/G_4jOJbT2FA
Thank you for reading and sharing,
Steve Smith
GreatBase Tennis Education (GBTE)
05/06/2025
05/04/2025
05/04/2025
05/04/2025
05/04/2025
05/04/2025
05/04/2025
05/04/2025