Area tennis icon lists waterfront house for sale for $2.2 million

BRADENTON — Even area tennis coach and global tennis icon Nick Bollettieri can’t escape the wreath of the pandemic.

The founder of the famed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Bollettieri, who will turn 90 in July, has listed the 4,500-square-foot house he owns in Bradenton for sale. While he loves the 12-year-old home that overlooks Palma Sola Bay, Bollettieri says his main way to make money — giving speeches and tennis clinics worldwide — has been cancelled due to the pandemic. “The upkeep costs too much,” he says. “That’s the way it is now. I’m sure other people have it worse. You have to make due with what’s in front of you.”