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Nick Bollettieri, Visionary Coach Of 10 World No. 1s, Dies Aged 91
Spoiler:
ATPTour.com pays tribute to a coaching pioneer, with exclusive insight from some of his former pupils
Editor's Note: This is an updated version of a story that was first published on ATPTour.com in July 2021.
Nick Bollettieri never set out to revolutionise the way tennis was coached, let alone become world famous. But over the course of the past six decades, the charismatic former American football player-turned paratrooper, who today passed away aged 91, never stopped learning about the sport. Be it from his time in Coral Gables and onto Victory Park in North Miami Beach; from Synder Park in Springfield, Ohio, the Port Washington Tennis Academy to the Dorado Beach Resort in Puerto Rico and Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; then The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, located in Sarasota, and onto an old tomato field in Bradenton, Florida, his home of the past 40 years.
Bollettieri first hit a tennis court with an uncle, John Lightfoot, at the New Rochelle County Club. From there, he translated the philosophy of Vince Lombardi, and the discipline and dedication required to jump out of an aeroplane at 14,000 feet in the 187th Airborne Division of the US Army into leadership as a visionary, identifying the need to train talented junior players in a deliberate process. “It’s about hitting hundreds of tennis balls for four or five hours daily, of squeezing schoolwork between training sessions, of spending three or four weekends each month at tournaments,” Bollettieri exclusively told ATPTour.com in 2021. “Paying the price to be a winner. Nothing is going to come by accident. If it does, it’s a one-time victory. Success is about blood, sweat, tears, frustration and the determination to achieve it.”
With the help of Julio Moros, Steve Owens, Sammy Aviles, Chip Brookers, David Brewer and Mike De Palmer Sr., to name but a few coaches, Bollettieri took the sport out of country clubs and public courts, and away from the traditional college route and onto the pro tours. He went about fast-tracking thousands of aspiring professional athletes in the first full live-in, training programme at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy (now-named IMG Academy), which first opened its doors in November 1981, courtesy of a $1.8 million loan from Louis Marx, owner of Marx Toys. “You cannot do it yourself and you have to have a team,” said Bollettieri. “If I had given thought about what I did, I would never be where I am. I just did it. Most people think too much. Don’t ever be ashamed to say I am nervous. When I did my first jump, this little private asked ‘How I was feeling?’ I said, ‘I’ve got a diaper on, I am so nervous!’ But I found a way to get over my nerves to do it. It’s a part of life.”
With custom-fit technical and strategic advice for every player, Bollettieri and his band of loyal coaches, physical trainers and sports psychologists used video analysis to help to develop the likes of Carling Bassett, Kathleen Horvath and Jimmy Arias, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier, Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova through daily drills and competition. In 2021, Arias told ATPTour.com, “Bollettieri was about, here’s a can of balls, 30 guys who are really good, and let’s beat everyone’s brains in every day.” Ten World No. 1s — and countless Top 10 tennis talent — made an initial 12-acre site in Bradenton, Florida, their training base. Following a $7 million takeover in 1987, the Academy subsequently expanded through IMG’s Mark McCormack and Bob Kain and today it now caters for high-performance athletes across eight sports in more than 500 acres.
Courier, whose mother wrote to Bollettieri asking for him to change her son’s baseball grip on his backhand during his four-year stay at the Academy, told ATPTour.com, “Nick provided a unique professional environment at his revolutionary academy for amateurs like myself that accelerated our path, taught us discipline and structure. The Academy gave us best in class technical, conditioning and mental coaching for the rigors ahead and the daily competition simply did not exist anywhere else in the world. These skills not only helped people like me achieve my dreams in sport but also translated to success in the business world for so many students as well.” Courier, like Seles, had unrivalled work ethic.
Getting to Stadium Court was always the ultimate goal at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. After returning from four hours' tuition at one of two nearby schools, the students would find Bollettieri bare-backed and thinking about his tan, wearing wrap-around sunglasses and feeding balls in a constant state of motion. He expected his elite charges to deliver, to shine. There was a different energy when he was around as each player wanted (and needed) to impress the coach they respected the most. When asked what he looked for in a student, Bollettieri, who fed, housed and coached many of the students out of his own pocket, told ATPTour.com, “What they do without saying one word. Their attitude, their determination and also athleticism. Foot speed is also important. I don’t look at the grips, but I look at what they do to make them a little bit better most of the time.”
Of course, it was Arias’ whipped forehand, which Bollettieri first witnessed at The Colony in November 1977, that became the blueprint for the way he — and his coaches — taught the stroke in the future. “On that first day, Mike DePalmer Jr. and I were hitting for 15 minutes then Nick came out and started feeding me balls,” said Arias. “He fed, but he had someone taking balls out of the basket and handing them to him! I got off the court and I said to my Dad, who is from Spain, ‘What do you think?’ And my Dad said, ‘That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. How can you swing full speed and then stop?’ He wanted the racquet in motion. I was hitting the way everyone is hitting now. They didn’t realise I would be able to swing hard under pressure and lots of people told me I couldn’t make it. That’s why Nick ran out to feed me forehands and he said to his coaches, ‘That’s the Bollettieri forehand!’ But it was mine, well the ‘Tony Arias forehand’. So Nick started teaching that.”
A decade later, when there was criticism that Bollettieri couldn’t teach his players how to volley, Courier, Agassi and Seles simply began hitting swinging volleys, now a staple shot.
While the cost of attending the Academy amounted to $1,500 per month in the 1980s, coaches made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips for lunch, prior to track, gym and tennis work until 5:30pm. “Cook would prepare dinner at the 20-room motel – often spaghetti and steak, then it would be clean-up, homework and room checks,” recalls Bollettieri. “When the chef had Sundays off, bacon and scrambled eggs would be prepared in a big frying pan. Dinner would be KFC or pizza. There were picnic tables in the driveway and the children ate in shifts.” The 1,200-square metre swimming pool soon needed to be filled in, and a structure built for a study hall, while Carling’s father, John Bassett, provided buses to ferry everyone around. Younger players regularly squared off against older foes to foster a competitive atmosphere.
Aaron Krickstein, who followed Arias and broke into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as a 17-year-old, told ATPTour.com, “Nick was always a positive motivator and always devised game plans to take advantage of my opponent’s weaknesses. He was a fun guy to be around, we played cards and pool together. He was a positive influence, but at the same token, he was a no-nonsense guy and wanted to get the best out of his students. Nick could get into the mind of a student and did that very well.”
There was plenty of high jinx too among the 300 students. David Wheaton, who was invited to the Academy in January 1985 and joined Agassi, Courier and Martin Blackman in a training group, told ATPTour.com of one notable incident. “Andre had worn denim jeans at a tournament in northern Florida, so when he came home Nick set up a disciplinary committee with students on the bleachers,” said Wheaton, who moved down with his family to attend the Academy in 1985. “It was 12:30pm and Andre was in the dormitory beside stadium court. He stepped out and said, ‘What time’s my lesson? Nick had been on court since six in the morning and Andre said, ‘Don’t forget I have a hair appointment at 2:30 p.m.!’”
Agassi remained a perennial favourite, and as a young American teenager taught Bollettieri the importance of listening. Bollettieri was sat in the players’ box on Centre Court when the Las Vegan captured the 1992 Wimbledon title — the ultimate Academy promotion. There was a two-year stint as a touring coach to Boris Becker, while Bollettieri continued to evolve and help the likes of Yannick Noah, Mary Pierce, Venus and Serena Williams, Marcelo Rios, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, Tommy Haas, Jelena Jankovic, Max Mirnyi and Kei Nishikori.
Bollettieri only realised he had become famous when “One time at the US Open, I arrived at the front door and by the time my manager and I got through I had signed 300 autographs." Not bad for a New Yorker, born to immigrant Italian parents, who dropped out of the University of Miami law school after five months and took up tennis coaching for $3 per hour, while the first of his eight wives travelled around the city to pick up tips from rival instructors.
Brian Gottfried, Bollettieri’s first success story from their first meeting in Springfield in 1961, told ATPTour.com, “He was a great promoter, an electric personality and a great motivator, so I didn’t really think or know about his future. I knew what he did for me. He was a strong disciplinarian for one, but I related to him well because I liked the discipline. His motivational and technical skills were very good. You may say he didn’t have much of a playing history before that time, but he was a great learner and imitator and watcher. His heart is his biggest asset, I don’t know how his heart fits in his body. He never charged me a penny.”
When asked about his three biggest influences in more than 60 years of teaching the sport, Bollettieri told ATPTour.com, “My parents always gave me the courage to try things. To be in the paratroopers that wanted to be the best of the best, and the famous football coach Vince Lombardi, who got me started with my first camps in 1968 at the Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, which became the biggest summer camps in the world and sowed the seeds for what became the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.”
Bollettieri worked tirelessly, creating an environment young players needed to thrive. He would rise at 4:30 a.m. each day after just five hours' sleep; undertake his daily stretches, sit-ups, press-ups and lift light weights, and his first lessons would begin a half-hour later. Bollettieri played golf, body surfed and swam as part of his routine. He patrolled the IMG Academy with the same level of enthusiasm and dedication to tennis that he helped revolutionise as a pioneer, safe in the knowledge that his holistic training model has become the standard for academic, athletic and personal development of young athletes in every major tennis city in the world.
His legacy, too, is one of generosity and that the life lessons he provided are remembered by his former students to this day. Today, the IMG Academy in Bradenton - and the tennis world - will fall silent in homage to Bollettieri, who started out as a philosophy graduate and onto lead a life that defied expectations.
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
Agassi, Evert, King Pay Tribute To Nick Bollettieri
Spoiler:
Tennis community mourns the loss of coaching icon
Tennis coaching pioneer Nick Bollettieri passed away aged 91, it was announced Monday.
Bollettieri, the coach of 10 former World No. 1s, was a magnetic force in the tennis community known for his unmatched energy. Former players, including Andre Agassi, Tommy Haas, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, and other members of the tennis community took to social media Monday to share their condolences.
You May Also Like: Nick Bollettieri, Visionary Coach Of 10 World No. 1s, Dies Aged 91
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
Former Bollettieri students Arias, Courier, Pierce discuss the late, great coach
Jimmy Arias was already a 13-year-old tennis prodigy from Buffalo when the fast-talking coach from the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort talked him into moving to Florida in 1978.
“School was over at noon, and I could hit tennis balls the rest of the day,” Arias recently said. “My other choice was moving to Spain — by myself — and working with the Spanish Federation, a bunch of old guys who smoked and didn’t speak English.
“The beach — or Spain? It was a no-brainer for a 13-year-old.”
The high-energy salesman was Nick Bollettieri, a guy who never played competitive tennis past high school. Arias was the first non-local marquee talent to join what would eventually become the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. At the time, it was only three other juniors, two courts in Longboat, Florida, and a room in Bollettieri’s house. After Andre Agassi and Jim Courier arrived, it would become the model for teaching tennis at the elite junior level.
Bollettieri died on Sunday, only a brief bicycle ride from his creation in Bradenton, Florida, surrounded by family and loved ones. He was 91. Everything in the legendary coach’s long and winding journey was larger than life.
If you are a follower of tennis, no last name was necessary. But his was as prolific as they came.
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Back in the day, Boris Becker was the first of his students to become the No.1-ranked player in the world. Over the years, he was followed by Monica Seles, Courier, Agassi, Martina Hingis, Marcelo Rios and Jelena Jankovic. Serena and Venus Williams were both touched by his teaching hand, as was Maria Sharapova, who arrived at his academy from Siberia at the age of 9.
In all, 10 players who entered his irresistible orbit became No.1 — an astonishing and unprecedented achievement. Long before places like the Rafael Nadal Academy and national training centres brought together the best and the brightest players, Bollettieri presided over an extraordinary teaching and learning environment in Bradenton.
Courier was 14 years old when he accepted a scholarship to attend in 1984.
“You’re 15, 16 years old and you’re down there with Andre Agassi, Yannick Noah, Johan Kriek,” Courier once said. “You’re a junior, but you’re training as a professional.
"It’s like the Thomas Friedman book, "The World Is Flat". Nick flattened the tennis world in a very Darwinian way. He put together an ecosystem of the world’s greatest juniors and sprinkled in some pros as well. He created an industry. Imagine, having the talent come to you, rather than the other way around.”
It was a seething cauldron of competition featuring a handful of future tennis stars — Courier, Agassi, Arias and Aaron Krickstein, among others — in their high school years in the1980s. Courier would go on to win four Grand Slam singles titles and Agassi eight.
The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, purchased by International Management Group in 1987, is still in operation — under his name.
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In 2014, after long exclusion, Bollettieri was finally extended an invitation to the Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, as a contributor.
Peter Bodo, one of today’s most respected tennis journalists, has been able to separate the Bollettieri’s swaggering style and the substance of his ultimate impact.
“He came into tennis as an outsider,” Bodo said, “just one of the legions of Americans who almost overnight found themselves fascinated by tennis in a new, professional era with all that entailed — crowded stadia, network coverage, branded footwear.
“His legacy is unique. Bollettieri’s eponymous academy provided industrial-grade, immersive training for scores of talented boys and girls, who not only benefited from expert, holistic training, but who lifted and challenged each other to become better with every passing day.”
Mary Pierce, winner of two major titles, explained Bollettieri’s extraordinary achievement this way: “He had such an amazing gift because everyone is so different and you can’t train everyone the same way. That’s what makes him such an amazing coach.
“He knew how to bring out the best in you.”
Bollettieri was born in Pelham, New York, not far from the United States Tennis Association’s sprawling US Open grounds, in 1931. He was a scrappy player in high school — the extent of his competitive run in tennis. After graduating from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama (with a degree in philosophy), he served in the U.S. Army.
He was attending the University of Miami Law School when tennis eventually lured him away from academia. He started out in the middle 1950s, charging $3 per hour for lessons at Victory Park Courts in North Miami.
His big break was becoming the tennis director of the Dorado Beach Hotel in Puerto Rico. In 1978, he founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Well ahead of his time in terms of mechanics, he preached an aggressive game, stepping inside the baseline and taking the ball early with an inside-out forehand.
The secret of his success, Bollettieri said that year, is communication.
“I believe the gift I have is the ability to relate to people in a very simple way,” he said. “Listen, I’m on the [USTA] board, and they have all kinds of coaches, and they talk about kinetic change and biomechanics, and all that stuff.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know s---. I don’t really know all those expressions, but what I do know is to be able to relate to people in a manner that fits into who they are. That’s the biggest thing I have.”
No one is more devoted to upholding Bollettieri’s legacy than Arias. Four decades after he first arrived in Florida, Arias rejoined the IMG Academy as the director of tennis, where he oversees some 230 student-athletes. Today, as parents of a certain age know, things are different.
“Our parents sent us away — there was no protection,” Arias said. “Now, it’s not quite as organic — or Lord of the Flies — as it used to be. I think it was good for us in general. You grew up very young and had no one to advocate for you. You had to advocate for yourself.”
Like Bollettieri, Arias is focusing on the basics.
“Technique is important, but at a certain point in time, you have to figure out, 'How am I going to beat the guy I’m playing today?’” Arias said. “The only way to do that is to play a lot — and a lot of different kinds of players. And win a lot.
"Basically, I’m bringing back the formula that Nick used years ago. It’s the perfect place to test yourself at every level. That’s what he brought to tennis.”
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
The pair has worked together since 2005
Rafael Nadal announced Friday on social media that his longtime coach, Francisco Roig, is leaving his team.
“I want to inform you that Francis Roig is leaving my team and starting a new personal project as a coach... He started joining the team and worked with us together with my Uncle Toni and later with Carlos Moyá and recently Marc López,” Nadal wrote. “Francis has been an important person in my career and I am very grateful to him for all these years of work and friendship.”
Roig has worked with Nadal since 2005, before the lefty claimed his first Grand Slam title. Now Nadal is a 22-time major winner and has spent 209 weeks at World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in his career.
“When we started working together I was a child and together with my Uncle Toni, we started on the circuit,” Nadal said. “Francis is a great coach who knows tennis very well and has helped me a lot to get better and better. I only have words of gratitude and I wish him all the luck in the world in his new project!”
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
Mouratoglou recalls the first time he watched the Danish star
Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who has worked with stars including Serena Williams and Simona Halep, recalls meeting Holger Rune when the Dane was 13. His first impression of Rune’s game was that he was an all-court player with no strokes that stood out.
“The fact that he was doing so well in terms of results got my interest because there is always a reason for that,” Mouratoglou, who is Rune's coach alongside Lars Christensen, told ATPTour.com. “I remember seeing him play points with guys and I thought ‘Oh, okay. I get it now.’
That ‘it’ was not related to technique or his strokes at all. It was an intangible.
“Some guys have this competitiveness that is at another level. They are able to play their best when it’s important,” Mouratoglou said. “They’re able to feel the moment when the guy is more stressed on the other side and keep the ball in the court and let the guy make the mistakes. Feel when is the moment to push and accelerate.”
Mouratoglou remembers discussing that with Rune and his team, including Christensen and mother Aneke Rune. His passion stood out.
“I could feel how much it was burning inside, which is quite rare to have. It’s funny because I’m in touch with a lot of young players as you can imagine at my academy and I always ask them about their hobbies,” Mouratoglou said. “A lot of guys say, ‘Oh, I love to do this and that.’ I say, ‘Do you watch some tennis?’ And they say, ‘Oh no, I play tennis all day, I’m not going to watch tennis.’ I always think it’s sad. I don’t judge, but to go to the top of the game, I think you have to be a bit obsessed with what you’re doing, whether you’re a musician, an actor or a tennis player.”
Rune, the Newcomer of the Year in the 2022 ATP Awards, also has great self-belief. When he walks on court, regardless of who his opponent is, he believes he can win. Mouratoglou said that has been present from the beginning.
“First he had an incredible belief in his ability to reach his dreams, which is not something very common because a lot of players are full of doubt and they don’t dare dreaming really and believing that they can do it. He believed 100 per cent,” Mouratoglou said. “Second, he was all about tennis. He’s coming to the tennis, he’s doing all the things and whenever he has free time he watches tennis. He thinks tennis, he’s really obsessed with the sport and I think that’s what makes the greats great and all the greats we all know, they are the same. They are really, really passionate.”
A prime example of Rune’s self-belief came at the 2021 US Open, where the Dane was making his Grand Slam debut. Novak Djokovic was trying to complete the calendar-year Grand Slam, and Rune was his first opponent.
“My goal is not just to play here,” Rune told ATPTour.com ahead of their first-round clash. “My goal is to win this tournament, even many times.”
“First of all if you don’t believe you are going to win, you can play 10 times better than the other guy, you’re not going to win,” Mouratoglou said. “And it’s easy to say, it’s not easy to really do.”
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According to Mouratoglou, it makes him think back to a story about Djokovic he always tells.
“There was a time when there were two guys who were on top of the world, Roger and Rafa. They were winning everything. We all remember this period, everything. All the Top 10s at that time were saying privately, ‘[It is] impossible to win a Grand Slam, we can’t beat those guys. They’re just too good,’” Mouratoglou said. “Novak arrived, he was 19. First time he played Roger in a Grand Slam he was interviewed the day before and he said, ‘I’m going to beat him.’ I remember the press people were tough on him. ‘Oh, who does he think he is?’ This guy, he just believed in himself.
“He didn’t win that match, but he happened to finally win many against them and become No. 1 in the world. So I think this is a really special thing. The immense majority of the players don’t believe and even if they believe at some point, their belief is not very strong. So when they hit the wall one, two, three times, they stop believing.”
Mouratoglou believes that the players who reach the top of the sport have “a really, really strong belief in their ability to beat the best and become the best”. That is why he likes Rune’s mental approach.
“I love this attitude and it’s not disrespect at all because he has the highest respect for those champions,” Mouratoglou said. “But he believes in his abilities and it’s a great thing and he should 100 per cent keep that.”
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
Annacone's Analysis: Break Point Gives 'Human Perspective' On Top Athletes
Spoiler:
Former coach of Federer and Sampras gives perspective on Break Point
Paul Annacone was a terrific player, rising to No. 12 in the Pepeprstone ATP Rankings (singles) and winning 14 doubles titles, including the 1985 Australian Open. He went on to coach Pete Sampras, who won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, and Roger Federer, who broke that record and finished with 20. He’s an astute analyst for Tennis Channel, offering cerebral, nuanced commentary — and, along with Michael Russell, helps coach rising American Taylor Fritz.
He also provided perspective for the Netflix series Break Point, which dropped Friday.
What was your experience with the Netflix crew over the 2022 season?
We had significant conversations at Indian Wells, Paris, just after Wimbledon and another one a month ago. Probably a half a dozen [sit-down interviews] overall and four pretty lengthy ones. And a number of times, just onsite when we were at the same tournaments at the same time. The producers are trying to give people an understanding of who these athletes are other than what they see on TV. We’re going to see a lot of perspectives. And we’re going to see the stuff that goes through players’ minds — good, bad or indifferent.
What do you think the main takeaways will be for the audience?
The simple theme that these athletes are human beings. They’re a lot like everybody else — they’re just extremely gifted with tennis racquets in their hands. And the human condition gets lost in extraordinary people and extraordinary athletes and this hopefully will give people an understanding that, at the end of the day, they’re human beings. They feel and do and act just like we do. But they do it in front of millions of people, so it’s a little bit different.
Talking with executive producer James Gay-Rees and showrunner Kari Lia, their takeaway was something you already know as someone inside the game — that professional tennis is really hard.
Yeah, it is. And many people don’t realise that at all. We’re also at a time where I think it’s really interesting, when you see new superstars jump on to the scene all of those human characteristics come into play even more, because it’s a totally new landscape for them. So, the next 12 to 36 months is going to be really interesting.
The F1 series changed the temperature dramatically for fan support in America. Do you think “Break Point” can do the same for tennis?
The fact this series will point at the human nature of this endeavor. They’ll see just how special some of these other players who don’t have the same recognition as Serena and Roger did when they were playing. They’ll see what they’re trying to accomplish and just how hard it is. It could bring new attention.
How do you capture the casual tennis fan?
Maybe this lens will give people a different perspective. Maybe the people that happen to love Netflix and aren’t huge tennis fans will see how Taylor Fritz won the big tournament in Indian Wells and beat Rafa — and ask ‘What’s that kid like?’ Or how players like Ons Jabeur have come on to the scene and want to know more about her off the court. Maybe that will be the bait and we get the hook in the mouth of more fans. That’s the goal.
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy
2015: Tokio
2016: Rio de Janeiro, Indian Wells, Waszyngton, Chengdu, WTF
2017: Doha, Sydney, Dubaj, Miami, Marrakesz, Estoril, s-Hertogenbosch
2018: Barcelona,Winston-Salem,Sztokholm, Paryż-Bercy,
2019: Dubaj, Miami, Monachium, Kitzbühel, St. Petersburg, WTF
2020: Adelaide, Rzym
2022: Adelaide 1, Australian Open, Rzym, Halle
2023: Indian Wells, Miami, Barcelona, US Open, WTF
2024: Wimbledon, Winston-Salem
2015: Kuala Lumpur
2016: Queens, Sankt Petersburg
2017: Waszyngton, Winston-Salem, US Open, Sankt Petersburg, WTF
2018: Doha, Miami, Hamburg,
2019: Eastbourne, US Open,
2020: RG, Sofia
2021: ATP Cup
2022: Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Winston-Salem, Florencja
2023: Montpellier, Rzym, Atlanta
2024: Mallorca
MTT (DEBEL) - Tytuły (7) / Finały (7)
2019: RG, Cincinnati, Paryż-Bercy, WTF
2020: RG, US Open
2021: Rzym
2018: WTF
2019: Indian Wells, Madryt
2020: Australian Open
2021: Australian Open, RG, Paryż-Bercy