Revolutionary and hugely charismatic tennis coach Nick Bollettieri has died at the age of 91.
The New Yorker has guided 10 world number one singles players, including Andre Agassi, Maria Sharapova, Monica Seles and Boris Becker.
Bollettieri first established his eponymous academy in 1978, and before long students were living and training full-time in Bradenton, Florida.
With his deep tan and wraparound sunglasses, Bollettieri worked his students extremely hard and changed the face of tennis coaching.
“You were a dreamer and a doer, and a pioneer in our sport – truly one of a kind,” former world number two Tommy Haas said in a tribute.
Sabine Lisicki – runner-up at Wimbledon in 2013 – said Bollettieri “shaped the game of tennis”.
“You have given so many children a place to work towards their dream,” she added.
“Support them with your knowledge and the belief that anything is possible.”
Bollettieri was never an elite player. He began offering tennis lessons shortly after his discharge from the US Army’s 187th Airborne Division in 1957.
It was to his academy that Sharapova’s father first turned, when his daughter arrived in the United States at the age of six. Initially too young to board, the Russian later described it as a ‘tennis prison’. Routine and repetition have shaped many champions, although Sharapova felt there was not enough work done on the technical aspects of the game.
Agassi used similar language in his autobiography, referring to his fellow students as “inmates”. He was another who didn’t appreciate his tennis upbringing. The American frequently rebelled against the system and recalled Bollettieri’s anger after playing a final in jeans, make-up and earrings.
But the partnership lasted. As a traveling coach, Bollettieri is most closely associated with Agassi and the 1992 Wimbledon Championships. Agassi won his first Grand Slam on center court, with Bollettieri wiping away tears in the players’ box.
The Williams sisters, Jim Courier and Martina Hingis are among the other great champions to have benefited from Bollettieri’s experience, and the current director of the IMG Academy – the modern iteration of Bollettieri’s academy – Jimmy Arias has said: “Tennis wouldn’t be where it is today without Nick’s influence.”
He had an extraordinary presence. ‘Holy mackerel!’ was his slogan; tennis was his life.
Bollettieri was a natural in front of the camera and we always looked forward to his appearances on the BBC Radio commentary box at Wimbledon in recent years.
With a winning smile and a wonderful turn of phrase, he brought the language and glamor of New York to Center Court.
