Pete Sampras, nicknamed “Pistol Pete” for his powerful and precise serve, is the former world no. 1 American Tennis player. Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017, Pete is the winner of 14 Grand Slam Tennis Champion titles throughout his 14 years of professional career.
Before the arrival of famous tennis players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, Sampras was all over Tennis.
Sampras defeated his long-time rival Andre Agassi in the U.S. Open in 2002.
Additionally, his strength and speed made every viewer enthusiastic about Tennis which is still compared with young players.
Likewise, in his short-time career, he handed honors and achievements of best multiple times. Unexpectedly, Pete remained in his career lesser than expected.
Despite his legacy of receiving an attack from any court side, Pete is also a genuine role model.
Before getting more in-depth about Pete Sampras, here are the following details starting from quick facts below:
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Pete Sampras |
| Known as | Pete Sampras |
| Nickname | Pistol Pete |
| Birth Date | 12th August 1971 |
| Birth Place | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Residence | Lake Sherwood, California |
| Religion | Christian |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Greece |
| Education | Palis Verdes High School |
| Horoscope | Leo |
| Father’s Name | Soterios Sampras |
| Mother’s Name | Georgia Sampras |
| Siblings | 3 (Stella Sampras, Gus Sampras, and Marion Sampras) |
| Age | 53 Years Old |
| Height | 1.81 m (6 feet and 0.1 inches) |
| Weight | 185.1 lbs (84 kg) |
| Eye Color | Brown-Dark |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Body type | Athletic |
| Profession | Tennis Player |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse | Bridgette Wilson |
| Children | 2 Sons |
| Name of Children | Christian Charles Sampras and Ryan Nikolaos Sampras |
| Beginning of Professional Career | 1988 |
| Retirement | 2003 |
| Playing style | Serve-and-volley playstyle (The best surface, having undoubtedly the fastest playing grass courts) |
| Sports team | Jack Kramer Club |
| Coach | Peter Fischer, Tim Gullikson |
| Honors | U.S. Open, Grand Slam Cup, Wimbledon, Australian Open |
| Victory | The best-winning percentage at Wimbledon in the Open Era with 90%; the youngest player to win U.S. Open champion and one of the only four players in the open era to have a Grand Slam in 4 years. |
| Social Media | Facebook, Twitter, Instagram |
| Merch | Signed Tennis Ball |
| Net Worth | $150 million |
| Prize Money | $43,280,489 |
Pete Sampras | Early Life
Pete Sampras was born on 12th August 1971 in Washington, D.C. Likewise, his father, Soterios, was an aerospace engineer for the Department of Defense and co-owner of a deli.
At the same time, his mother, Georgia, used to work as a beautician at a local salon.
Additionally, his father was born Greek, and his mother was Polish Jewish.
Likewise, Pete is their third child among four, and all of them spent their first year in Potomac, Maryland. Later, they moved to Ranchi Palos Verdes, California.
Accordingly, moving to the California climate, all four got interested in Tennis and joined the Peninsula Racquet Club. And reportedly, Pete joined Palos Verdes High School.
Pete Sampras | Career
Tennis and Peter Fischer
Firstly, Pete’s parents noticed him playing with a tennis racket hitting the ball against the wall.
Then, he participated in local D.C. high school courts that upgraded him quickly to the game.
Eventually, his lifetime first coach became Peter Fischer, a pediatrician, and tennis buff.
Though Fischer was not a professional and experienced coach, Fischer could teach their son strategy for parents.
Meanwhile, Fischer was the one who shifted Sampras from being a baseline player to a serve and volley player. Also, he improved Sampras’s monster serve.
Despite being a non-professional coach, Fisher got lots of patience to teach his only student to deal with his emotions.
In fact, Sampras used to get offended after losing a match. While Fischer reminded him to raise the bar of expectation, his real competitor was legendary Australian tennis player Rod Laver.
Rod Laver was a lifelong role model of Fischer himself.
Tour
Continuously showing interest in Tennis made Sampras away from socialization. He had no close friends from all of his teenage days and never played any other sports except where he practiced.
Later in 1987, Sampras joined the Unites States Tennis Association (USTA) Boys’ 18 tournaments. There he ranked second in singles and first in doubles.
Further, Sampras won $7,000 in prize money, ranking No.311 worldwide.
Hence, from there, he became a professional. Similarly, Sampras entered a grand slam event, the U.S. Open in 1989 U.S. Open where he made it into the fourth round.
Afterward, Sampras had an issue with Fisher, so they departed from each other.
According to Fischer, Sampras was not training enough but expected to rank Number 1.
Other than that, no position was unacceptable for Sampras.
Nevertheless, departing after so long, Sampras had long praised Fischer, who made him a champion rather than a good tennis player.
Pete Sampras | Grand Slam Cup
In the same way, in 1990, Sampras ranked in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
He earned his first-ever professional victory at the U.S. Pro Indoors in Philadelphia. Indeed, players used to have their first service over the top of speed.
But surprisingly, Sampras’s second serve also met the speed of his first one.
With all of his speedy strength, Sampras beat Ivan Lendl in five sets in the quarterfinals.
He became a four-time Open winner in the semifinals and competed with Andre Agassi in the finals. Truly, Samprass won over in three sets by 6-4, 6-3, and 6-2.
Then, just at the age of 19 years, 28 days, Sampras recorded becoming the youngest U.S. Open winner in history.
After the grand surprise of strength in Sampras, many grabbed their attention on him.
In addition, he once said that he was not prepared and unknown for something that grand to happen.
As everyone around him suddenly expects more and the best from him, that shyness and immaturity inside him got into a problem.
Subsequently introducing sudden changes in his physical appearance, Sampras has physical injuries too.
Accordingly, he skipped the Australian Open but was eliminated from the second Wimbledon and French Open rounds.
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Wimbledon
Later in 1992, Sampras got his new coach, Tom Gullikson, a former top-ten player.
Moreover, Gullikson was the one who made Sampras depend less on his serve and strokes, and strategy.
In the same year, he reached to semifinals at Wimbledon with his hard-serving powerhouse.
That year, Sampras might have lost Grand Slam but got millions of dollars as prize money and 70 match wins.
Further, in 1993, he stopped in the quarterfinals at French Open. On the other side, Wimbledon defeated Agassi in the quarterfinals, Boris Becker in the semifinals, and Courier.
Similarly, Sampras earned his first Wimbledon championship, including the second U.S. Open, scoring against Cedric Pioline.
As much as the excitement seems, the media posted hundreds of news about Sampras.
Furthermore, he was a simple, humble, polite, and professional player, but brand endorsements and unwanted ads were hampering him alongside.
Distracting news making him on and off the court disturbed him, but he was also training to focus on winning alone.
In 1994, Sampras went straight to his third Grand Slam title, winning the first Australian Open championship.
Likewise, again defeating Ivanisevic, Sampras handed in his second title on the grass court.
Later, he got an ankle injury making him take serious bed rest for about six weeks, hindering his best performance at the U.S Open. Still, Sampras was ranked to be No.1.
Pete Sampras | Awards and Achievements
Records
Starting from being the highest number of year-end finishes as World rank 1:6, Sampras’ most consecutive years ended as World No. 1:6.
Namely, he had the best winning percentage at Wimbledon in the Open Era with 90%.
As mentioned above, Sampras is the youngest to win the U.S. Open championship in the Open Era.
Moreover, Sampras is one of the only four players in the Open Era to have a Grand Slam in 4 years.
Awards and Accomplishments
| Year | Awards and Accomplishments |
| 1990 | U.S. Open; Grand Slam Cup |
| 1991 | American Tennis Pro (ATP) World Championships |
| 1993 | U.S. Open |
| 1993-95 | Wimbledon |
| 1994-1997 | Australian Open |
| 1995-96 | U.S. Open |
| 1997-2000 | Wimbledon |
| 2002 | U.S. Open (Final match before retirement) |
Pete Sampras | Tragedy
Besides having a world recording strength, Sampras has true relation and polite relationship with his recent coach.
Similarly, in 1995, while at the Australian Open, he learned that Gullikson, his coach and friend, had Brain Cancer.
While in the match, a random fan called Pete to win the match for his coach, which immediately broke Sampras down.
In brief, he also had sobbed on the court, remembering such things outbursting his emotions.
But after losing the complete first round in French Open, he again wins his third most Wimbledon championship.
In the same year, Sampras received his third career U.S. Open title, ranking No.1 on the list.
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Married Life
Relating to his personal life, Sampras married Bridgette Wilson, former Miss Teen USA, on 30th September 2000.
The couple also has two children. Further, they welcomed their first son Christian Charles Sampras on 21st November 2002 and their second son, Ryan Nikolaos Sampras, on 29th July 2005.
Hence Sampras, with his family, is currently residing in Lake Sherwood, California.
Pete Sampras | Net Worth
Devoting 14 years of a long career, Sampras faced several ups and downs. He owed the most prestigious awards and honors in the field of Tennis.
Pete earned more than $43 million as prize money during his career alone.
Additionally, he earned around $100 million from various guest appearances and endorsement deals.
Similarly, Sampras’ net worth is estimated to be $150 million.
Sampras obviously lives a well-settled, luxurious life as such a renowned and extraordinary player.
On the other side, he did several charity works. Reportedly, Sampras is a member of the American Cancer Awareness Society and Aces for Charity.
He is the benefactor of the Vitas Gerulaitis Youth Foundation and Kids’ Stuff Foundation.
Pete Sampras | Social Media
The former world champion is available on all the major social media platforms with many followers.
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Pete Sampras | Popularity
The former world champion is still popular and revered in the world of Tennis by fans worldwide.
As demonstrated by the graph above, we can see that he has been in the trends constantly.
FAQs | Pete Sampras
How many grand slams does Pete Sampras Owe have?
Pete Sampras received 14 Grand Slams starting from the age of 19.
At what age did Pete Sampras got retired?
Unexpectedly, Pete announced his retirement at 32 in 2002 after winning the final match with his long-time rival Andre Agassi.
What could be the chest size of Pete Sampras?
Reportedly, Pete’s chest size is estimated to be 40 inches.
