Behind the scenes: Nick Bollettieri

Some of the world's most famous people may owe their success to people we rarely hear about. For example, the tennis coach who sits on the sidelines while his proteges receive all the glory on the court. The BBC World Service spoke to tennis coach extraordinaire, Nick Bollettieri.

---

Nick Bollettieri | Tennis Coach | Florida

Nick Bollettieri gives his top tips for budding tennis pros

He wasn't a particularly good tennis player himself, he readily admits, and only took up coaching to make some money to put himself through law school, but half a decade on, his list of alumni is a who's who of greatest and the most gifted in the tennis world.

Nick Bollettieri has coached 10 world number ones including Boris Becker, Monica Seles, Jim Courier and Andre Agassi, as well as the Williams sisters and Martina Hingis.

"All of these people that go to greatness, they have to have one ingredient - the passion, the passion to do more, each and every day and refuse to lose," he says.

He was off the wall as a youngster, but I saw something special in Andre Nick Bollettieri

His success comes from his ability recognise this passion in sometimes unlikely places.

He recalls Monique Seles coming to his tennis academy in Florida as a scrawny 12-year-old, but even then he says, he says she had something special:

"I saw her at 12-years-old, thin as a rail, hit the ball with two hands, both sides, but I saw something unbelievable."

Key to success

No two players are alike, he says.

"Each of them has a little bit of something.

BOLLETTIERI TENNIS ACADEMY 1977: He opens the Academy in Florida 1986: 27 students make it to the main draw of the US Open 1991: Boris Becker and Monica Seles become first players coached by him to become No.1 2008: Jelena Jankovic becomes the 10th player coached by him to become No.1

"If you look at [Andre] Agassi - he had the hands and the eyes and was always on the cutting edge.

"My Venus and Serena, off the wall man, off the wall, Maria Sharapova, six-foot-two and a thing of beauty, but underneath that smile, she's vicious."

His most satisfying moment as a coach he says was to watch Andre Agassi, rise from a young tennis rebel he had coached since he was a teenager, to become one of the world's best when he won Wimbledon in 1992.

FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE More from BBC World Service

"I was sitting in the stands and Goran Ivanisevic came to the net, had an easy volley, put the volley in the bottom of the net and Andre Agassi drops down to his knees and started to cry."

"(It's) unbelievable to know that you helped him. Andre was a radical man, he was off the wall as a youngster, but I saw something special in Andre."

Yet despite all the success he's brought the players he's worked with, he sees himself as the lucky one.

When people ask him if he's ever going to retire his answer is: "How can I retire when I've never worked a day in my life?"

"That's the way honestly my career has been."