Tennis lost one of its most charasmatic characters and biggest game-changers this week as Nick Bollettieri, the Hall of Fame coach and pioneer of the famed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. that's produced many of the game's greatest champions, passed away on Sunday at the age of 91.
Former US Open champions Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapova were among 10 former world No. 1s whom Bollettieri coached in his career, and they were among those to lead the tributes to the late coach on social media after the news broke.
"I am a lucky girl to have shared so many remarkable moments with you," Sharapova, who started training at Bollettieri's academy in Bradenton, Fla. when she was 9 years old, wrote in part on Twitter.
Agassi, who began training with Bollettieri at age 13, added: "He gave so many a chance to live their dream. He showed us all how life can be lived to the fullest."
The tributes were not just limited to players with whom Bollettieri had history.
"Aside from being the greatest coach ever, you were so kind to me, my parents, and my siblings," Chris Evert wrote on Twitter. "That meant more to me than anything; you had a big heart and a zest for living."
In her own tribute, Billie Jean King wrote that Bollettieri was "always positive, and was able to get the best out of everyone fortunate enough to work [with] him," and Martina Navratilova said he was "an amazing coach," who "transformed how tennis is taught."
"Most of all, you were a very kind human being," Navratilova added, "[and] it was an honor to have known you."
Read on for more reactions from the tennis family, including former world No. 2 Tommy Haas and 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki—two of Bollettieri's other successful proteges.
