Legendary Tennis Coach Nick Bollettieri Dies at 91
Longtime tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, who founded the international training facility now known as IMG Academy, has died at age 91, IMG Academy announced on Monday.
Over the course of his career, Bollettieri coached 10 athletes who would become world No. 1 tennis players, including Venus and Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Jim Courier and Maria Sharapova.
The coach created the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in 1978 on Longboat Key, Fla., to provide physical training, immersion and competition for tennis players around the world. The academy moved to nearby Bradenton, Fla., in 1981 and was purchased by IMG in 1987. Its name was officially changed to IMG Academy in 2012. Student athletes from around the world in myriad sports attend boarding school and camps there to focus on their athletic development.
“Tennis wouldn’t be where it is today without Nick’s influence,” IMG Academy director of tennis Jimmy Arias said, via a press release. “His tennis academy, which I had the privilege of growing up within, not only served as a launching pad for many tennis greats but evolved into an institution that has had a profound impact on the development of athletes across many sports at all levels.”
Bollettieri was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014. In May ‘22, the coach was the first inductee into the IMG Academy Hall of Fame.
