Legend and Junior Tennis Champions Center Senior Advisor Vic Braden passed away yesterday morning at the age of 85 from a heart attack. The entire tennis community grieves this distressing loss and we offer our condolences to his wife, Melody, and four children, Kory Braden-Hittelman, Kristen Paul, Troy Davis and Shawn Davis.
There has been a deluge of remembrances on Twitter including:
Sad to hear of the passing of Vic Braden, a tremendous coach who inspired a love for the game in all. http://t.co/IM1z2hnBif
— Tennis Hall of Fame (@TennisHalloFame) October 7, 2014
Tennis has lost a legend with the passing of Vic Braden. He touched so many people & he will surely be missed. pic.twitter.com/N9H4yIdUHE — Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 6, 2014
Today’s #TennisTipTuesday is dedicated to Vic Braden, who explains here the fundamentals of the serve pronation. https://t.co/NPLa35bxik
— USPTA (@USPTA_Tennis) October 7, 2014
Rest in Peace, Vic Braden.Innovative, cutting edge kind of guy. Will miss his enthusiasm and knowledge of the game. He’ll be greatly missed. — Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) October 7, 2014
My emotions are a but all over the place and it’s hard to put into words on how I feel about the passing of Vic Braden…
— CoCo Vandeweghe (@CoCoVandey) October 7, 2014
Vic Braden was a dear friend who helped make a difference in my life. He had a kind and generous heart. Tennis has lost a treasure. (2/2) — Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) October 6, 2014
So sad to hear of the passing of tennis coach Vic Braden, a pioneer, innovator, & true legend in our sport! Condolences to Melody. RIP Vic??
— Tracy Austin (@thetracyaustin) October 6, 2014
A great tennis personality and, above all, a great explainer http://t.co/hO03ZQeepz RT @jon_wertheim: R.i.p. Vic Braden — Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) October 6, 2014
Sad to hear Vic Braden has died. Fond memories of watching “Vic’s Vacant Lot” on TV long ago as a kid.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 6, 2014
RT @jon_wertheim: RIP Vic Braden (WATCHED HIM CLOSELY AS A KID. PRAYERS TO HIS FAMILY) — Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) October 6, 2014
Beyond his immeasurable impact in teaching the technical aspects of the game, Braden was also well-versed in the psychological elements as expressed in these quotes he authored:
“The moment of enlightment is when a person’s dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities.”
“Learn to think like a winner. Think positive and visualize your strengths.”
“Losers have tons of variety. Champions just take a pride in learning the same old boring winning shots.”
