Nicholas James Bollettieri (July 31, 1931[1] – December 4, 2022)[2] was an American tennis coach. He pioneered the concept of a tennis boarding school, and helped develop many leading tennis players during the past decades, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova. Bollettieri was also a tour traveling coach, the last time having been for and with Boris Becker for a span of two years.[3]
Bollettieri was mentioned and/or profiled in several television series and documentary films, including Jason Kohn's documentary film Love Means Zero, which was premiered at the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017.[4]
Though he had only dabbled in the sport in high school, Bollettieri was the tennis director at Dorado Beach Hotel in Puerto Rico in the late 1960s when it was a Rockefeller resort.[6]
Seeing a template for other sports, International Management Group (IMG) bought the academy from Bollettieri in 1987, but Bollettieri continued to manage and play a pivotal role in the development of the tennis academy and ancillary programs.[7] In his final years Bollettieri coached top-tier players at the academy, and spent most of his time in Bradenton.
Off-court
Bollettieri continued to teach and hold public speaking engagements worldwide, including a visit to teach students at Tri-State Athletic Club in Evansville, Indiana. He was also the instruction editor of Tennis magazine. Over the course of his life, Bollettieri wrote two memoirs: My Aces, My Faults with Dick Schaap in 1996, and Bollettieri: Changing the Game in 2014.[6]
Bollettieri also wrote a 2001 instructional book, Bollettieri's Tennis Handbook, which covers everything from stroke techniques and strategies to skill development and physical and mental conditioning.[8] Additionally, he was featured in the Nick Bollettieri DVD Collection, a set of ten instructional DVDs that cover a wide range of practice methods.[9]
Grunting controversy
Bolletieri personally trained the majority of the controversially loud grunters in tennis, leading to repeated accusations that he has been deliberately teaching grunting as a novel tactic in order to give his later generations of students an edge in competitive play.[10]
Bollettieri has denied teaching grunting as a distraction tactic, and says grunting is natural, "I prefer to use the word 'exhaling'. I think that if you look at other sports, weightlifting or doing squats or a golfer when he executes the shot or a hockey player, the exhaling is a release of energy in a constructive way".[11] In 2011, after Danish player Caroline Wozniacki (then world no. 1) publicly accused Bollettieri's students of cheating by grunting, Women's Tennis Association Chairman Stacy Allaster stated that the WTA would be "talking to the Bollettieri academy" about the predominance of loud grunters from that institution and how it could be eliminated from the next generation of players. One year later, a division of Bollettieri's academy released a document calling grunting "unsportsmanlike" and acknowledging that it obscures the sound of string impact (as noted by Navratilova), resulting in "an increase in an opponent's decision error, and a slower response time".[10]
Notable students
The earliest Bollettieri pupils to reach No. 1 were Monica Seles, Jim Courier, and Andre Agassi.[12] Later, Marcelo Ríos climbed to the top while associated with Bollettieri.[13] The Williams sisters had a long-standing relationship with Bollettieri, having visited the academy for years, and they have often prepared for Grand Slams there.[14]Mary Pierce and Anna Kournikova also trained at the academy.[15] More recent students who trained with Bollettieri include Maria Sharapova (who moved from Russia at the age of nine) and Jelena Janković (from Belgrade, Serbia, aged 12); both became no. 1.[16]Max Mirnyi, who trained with Bollettieri[17] for 17 years, was ranked world number 1 in men's doubles. Bollettieri's most famous coaching roles while travelling as a tour coach were with Andre Agassi from 1986 until Bollettieri ended the arrangement following the 1993 Wimbledon tournament,[18] and with Boris Becker from December 1993 to August 1995.[19] Before becoming a wildlife-related personality, Frank Cuesta had also attended Bollettieri's academy, and became a tennis coach himself in Thailand to open one of Bollettieri's academies there.[20][21][22]
Personal life
Bollettieri was married eight times, and had seven children.[23] He was survived by his eighth wife, Cindi Eaton, whom he had married on April 22, 2004. The same year, they founded Camp Kaizen, a nonprofit fitness camp.[24]
Bollettieri died at home in Bradenton, Florida, on December 4, 2022, at age 91.[25][26]
Honors
On May 18, 2008, Bollettieri was honored at the New York College of Health Professions with an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters for his contribution to the world of sports, fitness, and wellness.[27]
