Peter Lundgren, the coach who accompanied Roger Federer in the first part of his professional career, died this Friday at the age of 59. The Swede, who as a player reached 25th place in the ATP ranking, also worked during his extensive and successful career as a coach alongside the Russian Marat Safin and the Chilean Marcelo Ríos, among others.
The news of his death was communicated via Facebook by Lukas, Lundgren's son. “Rest in peace, dad. Unfortunately, one of the best has left us too soon. Coach, player, friend and father, he was an inspiration and a helping hand to many, both on and off the field. The mark you left and the memories will always live,” he wrote.
Born in Gudmundra on January 29, 1965 and a fan of football and ice hockey, Lundgren began playing tennis at the age of 10 and progressed until joining the ATP circuit in 1983, at the age of 18. In a golden era for tennis in his country, after the first retirement of his idol Björn Borg, he was one of seven Swedes ranked among the top 25 in the world: he reached that position in December 1985.
During his 13 years as a professional (he played his last match in Sankt Pölten in May 1996), the Scandinavian won three titles (Cologne in 1985, San Francisco and Rye Brook in 1987) and played in three other finals (Stockholm in 1988, Newport in 1989 and Indianapolis 1990). At the end of 1987, he was recognized by the ATP as the player who had experienced the greatest evolution during that season.
As soon as he stopped playing, he began his coaching career. The first tennis player he worked with was the Chilean Marcelo Ríos, whom he took to the top ten in the world rankings for the first time. After leaving Chino, he joined the structure of the Swiss Federation in the role of talent trainer. In that role, he met Federer.
“It wasn't easy with him at first. He had a lot of temperament and showed it too often in games. But he quickly realized that he had to change. He learned very quickly and always found a way to solve problems,” Lundgren said in an interview published by the Swiss newspaper Blick in May 2023.
After that time shared at the federation level, the Swede assumed the role of Federer's personal coach in 2000 and accompanied him until December 2003, when the player decided to interrupt the relationship to seek 'new impulses' for his career. In that period, the Swiss star won his first 11 professional titles, including his first Grand Slam: Wimbledon 2003.
The first of Federer's 20 Majors was not Lundgren's only Grand Slam triumph as a coach, as he also guided Russian Marat Safin to win the Australian Open in 2005. Between September 2006 and August 2008, he coached the British Davis Cup team. He later worked with the British Alex Bogdanovic, the Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, and the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. During those years, he divided his residence between the United States and Switzerland. His last job was as an advisor to the young Swiss Dominic Stricker.
Lundgren returned to his country in 2020. He had to be hospitalized there in September 2023 as a result of a fracture in his left ankle. This injury had an extremely adverse evolution, which resulted in his foot and part of his leg having to be amputated. This was a consequence of an infection and type 2 diabetes that the Swede suffered from and which made his blood circulation difficult. “Now I feel well again and my rehabilitation will begin soon. It's time to fight,” he had then written on his Facebook account.
Once the news of Lundgren's death was known, two symbols of Swedish tennis expressed their condolences. “He was a wonderful person, with a big heart and a great sense of humor. He was a very good friend. He was loved by everyone. We will miss him in the world of tennis,” said Björn Borg. “He had great skills as a player, but I will remember him as a warm person with a big heart. I have many wonderful memories of him from his youth and the circuit,” said former world number one Stefan Edberg.
