Who is Pete Sampras? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Petros Sampras, Pistol Pete

Age: 52 Years, 52 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Bridgette Wilson

father: Sam Sampras

mother: Georgia Sampras

siblings: Gus Sampras, Marion Sampras, Stella Sampras

children: Christian Charles Sampras, Ryan Nikolaos Sampras

Tennis Players American Men

Height: 6'2" (188 cm), 6'2" Males

Ancestry: Polish American, Greek American

U.S. State: Maryland

More Facts

awards: 2001;1999;1998 - Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award
2003 - Best Moment ESPY Award
2001 - Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY Award

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Childhood & Early Life

Pete Sampras was born on August 12, 1971 in Potomac, Maryland. His parents, Sammy and Georgia Sampras are of Greek heritage.

The Sampras family moved to Palos Verdes, California in 1978 and Pete began playing tennis on a regular basis. He met his idol Rod Laver when he was 11 and got the opportunity to play with him.

Peter Fischer, an amateur coach and pediatrician, saw him playing at the John Kramer Club and became his coach till 1989. While training, Peter made Pete play the single handed backhand instead of the double handed backhand.

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Career

Pete Sampras entered the professional tennis world in 1988 and within a year brought his world ranking from No. 893 to an admirable No. 97. He improved his ranking slightly and ended the next year at No. 81.

He won his first professional singles title at the Ebel US Pro Indoor, in Philadelphia in 1990 after defeating Andre Agassi, Mayotte and Andres Gomez and ended the year at world ranking No. 5.

At the US Open in 1990, he defeated Thomas Muster, Ivan Lendl, McEnroe and Agassi to win the tournament and became the youngest-ever male singles champion, at the age of 19 years and 28 days. He expanded on these accomplishments by winning the Grand Slam Cup too.

He defeated Jim Courier to win the 1991 Tennis Masters Cup but lost to the same opponent in the quarterfinals of the US Open, where he was the defending champion.

In 1993 he reached No. 1 on the world rankings for the first time without having much to show for this accomplishment. However, soon enough he won his first Wimbledon title by defeating Courier and his second US Open by trouncing Cedric Pioline.

He won the Wimbledon title consecutively in 1994–95 and was the runner-up to Agassi in the Australian Open in 1995. His coach and close friend, Tim Gullikson was diagnosed with brain cancer the same year and hence Paul Annacone became Pete’s coach.

He won his fourth US Open title in 1996 by defeating Michael Chang, but could only reach the semifinals of the French Open as the clay court didn’t suit or support his serve-and-volley style of playing.

He won his second Australian Open and fourth Wimbledon title in 1997 after defeat5ng Carlos Moya and Cedric Pioline respectively. He also won the singles title in San Jose, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Munich and Paris.

The year 1997 saw him become the only player to win the Grand Slam Cup and the ATP Tour World Championships in the same year. He ended the year with No. 1 world ranking.

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In 1998 he won his fifth Wimbledon but lost the Australian Open and the US Open. Nevertheless he ended his 6th consecutive year as No. 1 in the world rankings.

He won the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida in 2000. Despite suffering from tendinitis in his right shin and severe back injury he won his record-breaking 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, which also became his eighth consecutive win at a Grand Slam final.

Pete Sampras did not win another title for more than two years; his form was worrisome and his pace had dropped. He gave away easy wins in the US Open (2000 and 2001) and the Wimbledon championship (2001). He showed some promise and reached the finals of the 2001 US Open, but lost to Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets.

He defeated Agassi in the 2002 US Open finals to win his fifth US Open title (equaling Jimmy Connor’s record of five US Open singles championships).

He announced his retirement before the 2003 US Open and in a special ceremony at the Open, he bid farewell to his fans and followers.

Awards & Achievements

During his tennis career, he won 14 Grand Slam Singles titles. These include: 2 Australian Open (1994, 1997), 7 Wimbledon (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000), and 5 U.S Open (1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002)

Pete Samparas was the ATP Player of the Year and the ITF World Champion for six consecutive years from 1993 to 1998.

At ATP’s 25th anniversary, in 1997, he was ranked as the No. 1 player in the past 25 years.

He was the first tennis player to be adjudged as the ‘Sportsman of the Year’ by the US Olympic Committee in 1997. ‘GQ’ magazine awarded him with the ‘Man of the Year’ award in the Individual Athlete category in 2000.

Personal Life & Legacy

Pete Sampras married American actress and former Miss Teen USA, Bridgette Wilson on September 30, 2000 and together they have two sons, Christian Charles and Ryan Nikolaos.

Trivia

Pete Samparas suffers from blood disorder, β-thalassemia minor, a genetic trait that sometimes causes mild anemia.

Pete Sampras Biography