Former world number one Lindsay Davenport and coaching legend Nick Bollettieri were among five people inducted Saturday into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
The Americans were joined by Dutch wheelchair tennis star Chantal Vandierendonck, long-time tennis executive Jane Brown Grimes and British author and broadcaster John Barrett.
The newcomers joined 235 others from 20 nations on the 60-year-old roll of honour at a ceremony ahead of the ATP Hall of Fame Championships semi-finals.
Davenport, 38, is a three-time Grand Slam singles champion who topped the rankings for 98 weeks, finishing as a year-end number one in 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2005.
She won the 1998 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon and 2000 Australian Open and also captured the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics among her 55 singles titles.
“To be with all the greatness here is overwhelming,” Davenport said.
Davenport helped the US team win three Fed Cup crowns and was also an accomplished doubles player, winning three Grand slam doubles crowns.
Bollettieri, 82, has coached 10 players who would become world number ones, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles and Boris Becker.
He has also worked with Maria Sharapova and Serena and Venus Williams and remains active in mentoring young talent, having more recently worked with Japanese star Kei Nishikori and American Ryan Harrison among others.
“Wow. Now I know exactly how it feels for those who have reached the top of Mount Everest,” Bollettieri said. “And the view from up here is amazing.”
In 1978, Bollettieri founded his own boarding school and tennis academy, which has since evolved into a huge facility with offerings in eight sports and more than 900 year-round students.
Five-time Paralympic medallist Vandierendonck, 49, was the women’s wheelchair world number one in singles for 136 weeks and doubles for 107 weeks after being injured in a 1983 car accident.
Barrett, 83, is a former British Davis Cup captain as well as a noted author, journalist and television commentator on tennis while Grimes had leadership roles at the US Tennis Association and WTA over 40 years in the sport.
