At Last, Bollettieri To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 4th March 2014

At Last, Bollettieri To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame |

After two unsuccessful nominations, Nick Bollettieri will finally be inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame this year — much to his satisfaction.

“I am sort of numb, hard to explain. For my family for all my players I worked with and all my friends who supported me, IMG … the award does not belong to only me,” the Sarasota Herald-Tribune quoted him as saying.

Even before his entry was announced, Bollettieri had spoken about how much he wanted to finally get in after not receiving enough votes in 2010 and 2012.

“A lot of people have come to me when I wasn’t accepted in the past, and it vanished immediately that I didn’t get in,” he said to the New York Times. “This time, after writing the book, the interviews and seeing what I’ve tried to do and continue to try to do, it would be a disappointment. I don’t know what else I could do — inner cities, scholarships, helping people changing their lives.”

But after starting the famous Bollettieri Academy (now IMG academy) in 1980 and developing several No.1s, the 82-year-old admits that the job is a lot more competitive than in the past.

“The whole world is playing tennis, and many years ago there were about six countries,” he said. “Now we are competing against the world, so it’s much more difficult for me when somebody comes up and says, ‘Nick, tell us about another champion.'”

If starting again, he would take another approach for the modern game.

“I would do a talent search and get the big, strong athletes, 11, 12 and 13 years old,” he said. “And I’d do a case study on them and go out and raise $40 to 50 million and then bring them to the academy and in five years, I’ll have your winners.”

Topics: 10sballs, IMG, International Tennis Hall Of Fame, Nick Bollettieri, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

March 4, 2014 at 8:22 am

At Last, Bollettieri To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame – http://t.co/2loxS8dLKu @NickBollettieri #Tennis #HallofFame