“You will be dearly missed!”: Pioneering tennis coach Nick Bollettieri dies
Renowned tennis coach Nick Bollettieri has died aged 91, with tributes flowing in from fans and former students.
Bolletieri was born to Italian immigrant parents who served in the military and dropped out of law school to become a tennis coach, going on to found the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida in 1978, which produced some of the world’s best players.
Bollettieri’s academy was later bought by the International Management Group (IMG) in 1987.
Having coached 10 World No.1 players, Bollettieri was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014.
His former students include the likes of Tommy Haas - Germany’s former World No. 2 - as well as Andre Agassi, Serena and Venus Williams, Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova.
Following the news of his former mentor’s death, Haas was among the first to pay tribute to Bolliettieri, describing him “a dreamer” and “pioneer”.
“Thank you for your time, knowledge, commitment, expertise, the willingness to share your skill, your personal interest in mentoring me and giving me the best opportunity to follow my dreams,” Haas wrote on Instagram.
“You were a dreamer and a doer, and a pioneer in our sport, truly one of a kind.”
2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki said Bollettieri had “shaped the game of tennis” and helped children achieve their dreams.
“You have given so many children a place to work for their dream. Supporting them with your knowledge and the belief that anything is possible. I was fortunate to be one of them,”she tweeted.
“You will be dearly missed!”
Agassi said that Bollettieri had “graduated from us” with a heartfelt throwback photo of them both.
“Our dear friend, Nick Bollettieri, graduated from us last night. He gave so many a chance to live their dream. He showed us all how life can be lived to the fullest… Thank you Nick,” he wrote on Twitter.
Former World No. 1 Billie Jean King described the late coach as one of tennis’ “most passionate coaches & advocates”.
“Nick was always positive & was able to get the best out of everyone fortunate enough to work w/ him,” she wrote.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family & team at the Academy.”
Patrick Mouratoglou, another coach who worked with Serena Williams, wrote that Bollettieri’s passing represented the loss of an important figure in the tennis family.
I am very saddened by the loss of @NickBollettieri
The tennis family has lost someone very important today, someone who has made our industry grow and has opened opportunities for coaches and players.
We will remember the very special human being you were and will miss you.
— Patrick Mouratoglou (@pmouratoglou) December 5, 2022
“Someone who has made our industry grow and has opened opportunities for coaches and players,” he said.
“We will remember the very special human being you were and will miss you.”
Sports journalist Ben Rothenberg described Bollettieri as “an absolute giant in the sport” and said it was “hard to overstate how much he changed the course of pro tennis in the last four decades”.
Another social media user shared a clip of the coach answering questions from his son and other young tennis students, including the question of what made him want to coach.
“Well, I wasn’t a good tennis player, but God gave me the ability to make people feel good about themselves. That’s what it’s all about,” he said in the clip.
“And remember something, Nick doesn’t want to be remembered for the ten No. 1’s, Nick wants to be remembered that I made an impact on your life.
“Even though I trained ten No. 1’s in the world, I also helped a lot of inner-city children that have nothing,” he said when asked how many good players he had trained.
“That’s important to me. Nick wants to be remembered for helping me have a chance in life. That’s important.”
Image: Getty Images