Nick Bollettieri passed away at the age of 91 on Monday and tributes have flooded the social media channels of just about everybody involved in the tennis industry. It is a testament to the man that he touched so many people in tennis – from not only the greatest champions ever in the sport, but also so many lesser-talented players and those who work in all levels in the tennis industry. The overwhelming personal tributes from all spectrums of the tennis world was very reminiscent of Bud Collins, and the very personal and amiable effect he also had on so many.

Bollettieri was featured in two sections of the Bud’s book “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” encyclopedia. He was part of the “They Also Serve” section in an early edition of the volume, prior to his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014, which, at the time, surprisingly, was a bit controversial (although hard to believe now) and was many years delayed.

Wrote Collins in the shortened “They Also Served” section of Bollettieri, “Most renowned coach, effervescent Nicholas James Bollettieri, b. July 31, 1931, Pelham, N.Y. Runs assembly line for champs, Bollettieri Sports Academy, Bradenton, Fla. Ex-U.S. Army paratrooper, graduate of Spring Hill (Ala.) College, became teaching pro, 1958. Among pupils to make World Top Ten: Andre Agassi, Jimmy Arias, Carling Bassett, Jim Courier, Aaron Krickstein, Monica Seles, Mary Pierce, Iva Majoli, Tommy Haas, Maria Sharapova.”

After his Hall of Fame induction, the entry from the Collins encyclopedia was as follows; Perhaps the most renowned coach in the sports history, effervescent Nicholas James Bollettieri ran an assembly line for champs via his Bollettieri Sports Academy, now the IMG Academy, in Bradenton, Fla. Among pupils to make world Top 10: Andre Agassi, Jimmy Arias, Carling Bassett, Jim Courier, Aaron Krickstein, Monica Seles, Mary Pierce, Iva Majoli, Tommy Haas, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and Serena Williams. An ex-U.S. Army paratrooper, a graduate of Spring Hill (Ala.) College, he became a teaching pro in 1958 and in 1978, he founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, the first tennis boarding school that integrated athletic training with academics.

For more information on “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” book, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Bud-Collins-History-Tennis/dp/1937559386/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=bud+collins+history+of+tennis&qid=1670335858&sprefix=Bud+Collins+History+of+Tenis%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-1