"Your boyfriend is your Prince ball machine" - When Monica Seles' coach Nick Bollettieri was left in awe of her incredible work ethic
Monica Seles' rise to the top of women's tennis was meteoric. She recorded several massive victories in the early stages of her career, and her coach Nick Bollettieri believed it was her work ethic that propelled her to such great heights.
Seles became a full-fledged professional in 1989, at the age of just 15. Achievements followed the determined young girl's path soon after as she became the youngest Major champion at the time, winning the 1990 French Open.
Reflecting on the then-World No. 1's work ethic, Bollettieri jokingly stated that Seles' boyfriend was the ball machine, given the amount of hours she spent on the training ground.
"She will not accept that she can’t do something and she’ll spend 40, 50, 70 hours working just to get one shot. I used to tell her: ‘Your boyfriend is your Prince ball machine’, she spent so much time with the thing," said Bollettieri years later.
Bollettieri went on to declare that the relentless effort from Seles to correct her flaws made it difficult for him to find any weaknesses in her game.
"I find it very difficult to pick out any weakness in her or her game," he added.
The celebrated coach admitted that the the nine-time Grand Slam champion was less athletic compared to her opponents. However, he opined that she compensated for it with her tenacious attitude.
"Monica Seles was far from being athletic. Yet once again, she was not one to say, “WHY me?” Instead, she agreed to find a way to offset her lack of athleticism," he stated.
Monica Seles taught me to accept my unorthodox body: Nick Bollettieri
Nick Bollettieri also claimed that Monica Seles taught him certain aspects of the game during his coaching years.
The erstwhile American coach once noted that Seles showed him how to accept his "unorthodox" body and focus on his on-court strengths instead of dwelling on what he lacked.
"Monica taught me to accept my unorthodox body. However, she taught me to focus on the fact that I had quick hands and eyes, and an ability to stand right on the baseline," he stated.
Bollettieri further observed that Seles' technique of ensuring early contact with the ball gave her opponents very little time to position themselves for the next shot.
"I learned of her ability to hit with both hands from both sides, making contact with the ball so early that her opponents had very little time to get in position. They could not even get their racquet on the ball," claimed the former coach.
Nick Bollettieri passed away on December 4, 2022. Apart from Seles, the American worked with several other leading players, including Andre Agassi, Serena Williams and Jim Courier.
Seles, meanwhile, retired with nine Grand Slam titles to her name -- eight of which came while she was still a teenager. A former World No. 1, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.