Nick Bollettieri, undoubtedly one of the greatest Tennis coaches to ever have set foot on a tennis court, passed away at age 91 yesterday.
Bollettieri, who was born on 31 July 1931 in Pelham, New York, was a trailblazer coach, who not only developed the Tennis boarding school concept in the 1970s, which assisted the likes of Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Mary Pierce and Jim Courier during their careers, but also wrote several books and was a renowned public speaker.
He also coached and was associated with Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, Boris Becker, Kei Nishikori, Venus and Serena Williams. He worked with ten Number One Male and Female tennis players during his illustrious career.
In 1987, IMG (International Management Group) saw a gap for other sports and bought the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Bollettieri continued to manage the business and also coach top players.
Bollettieri had a fantastic sense of humour in relaying his inspirational messages. In 2019, Tom Ferry hosted “The Mindset of a Champion with Legendary Tennis Coach Nick Bollettieri”, in which Bollettieri had the audience in stitches, especially about being married eight times. This is a video well worth watching – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-KU4ho4GGQ
While the Tennis world is in mourning, several past and present players, coaches and commentators took to social media to pay tribute to Bollettieri.
Nick Bollettieri has left huge shoes to fill, not only in Tennis, but also with his passion for life and making a difference!
“Rest in Peace” Sir!
