Pete Sampras Tennis Player Profile
Born: August 12, 1971 (age 52)
Country (sports): United States
Turned pro: 1988
Retired: August 25, 2003
Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize Money (Singles & Doubles Combined): $43,280,489
International Tennis Hall of Fame: 2007
Before the era of the Big Three, there was a tennis player who was considered the greatest by the best betting sites. Pete Sampras retired with 14 Grand Slam titles, which at the time of his retirement was a record.
Sampras won the Australian Open twice, won Wimbledon seven times, and won a record 5 US Open titles. He finished as the winner of 64 singles titles.
From Teen Sensation to Hall of Famer
Pete Sampras was the year end number one for six consecutive years between 1993 and 1998. Overall, he held the number one ranking for a total of 286 weeks, which is third all time. With such a distinguished resume, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007.
Sampras was one of the last great serve and volley players. Sampras had a huge serve, earning him the nickname “Pistol Pete”. Sampras was no slouch from the baseline either. He definitely had a well rounded game. His ability to be a great defender as well as his ability to put away points quickly at the net made him dangerous in every situation.
Sampras employed a flat, powerful style on both his serve and forehand. This kept the ball low, and created extra pace for his opponents to deal with. Sampras was powerful and consistent, a true nightmare matchup for his opponents.
Pete Sampras burst onto the scene in 1990. At only 19 years old, Sampras became the youngest US Open men’s singles champion in history when he defeated the biggest rival of his career, Andre Agassi. Then, at age 31, he beat Agassi again to win his fifth US Open title. These two US Open wins over Agassi bookended 14 Grand Slam titles in total.
Sampras really made his mark at the historic tournament of Wimbledon. He first won at Wimbledon in 1993 and won the next two tournaments making him the champion for three consecutive years.
In 1996, he fell in the quarterfinals but he bounced back to win four straight championships beginning in 1997 giving him 7 Wimbledon championships total. Pete Sampras’ ability to dominate at Wimbledon was the crowning achievement of his career. His continued success at the biggest tournament of this season made its mark and was instrumental in proving he is an all-time great.
Pete Sampras won five or more titles at two different majors. The only other players to do this are Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer. He was named the ATP Player of the Year for six consecutive seasons between 1993 and 1998.
Dominating Finals and Rivals
Pete Sampras made a Grand Slam final 18 times and won an impressive 14 of them. If Sampras was playing well enough to make a final, he was probably playing well enough to win the tournament.
Pete Sampras finished his singles career with a 762-222 singles record with a win percentage of 77.4%. This record is top 10 all time for the Open Era.
Pete Sampras’ biggest rival in his career was Andre Agassi. Their styles could not have been more opposite. Agassi was a flashy player who embraced the fashion styles of the time and was known for his flashy game as well.
Sampras was the opposite. He was stoic and showed very little emotion even off the court. While Agassi got the headlines and provided the flash for the match, Sampras was the perfect counterpart in this rivalry that showcased 2 opposite personalities.
From Wood to Graphite
Pete Sampras lived through an interesting time of tennis technology. When he started, he played with a wooden racket. He eventually moved on to graphite when he got older and worked towards the pros. Sampras lived through one of the greatest technological upheavals in the sport of tennis as the new graphite rackets allowed players to hit with more power and consistency than the old wooden rackets. For Sampras to be able to successfully make this change ushered in a new era of tennis.
While many are quick to proclaim this era’s players of every sport to be the greatest of all time, it is important to remember and appreciate the greats of the past. For if you are quick to dismiss those who came before your generation, the next generation will be apt to do the same. This is where the history of sports can be lost.
If we demean the past generations in their accomplishments and fail to recognize them, the meaning of all accomplishments starts to fall. Therefore it is important that we remember before this current era of greatness we had past greats such as Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, and of course Pete Sampras.
Career Record
Singles
Career record: 762–222
Career titles: 64
Highest ranking: No. 1 (April 12, 1993)
Doubles
Career record: 64–70
Career titles: 2
Highest ranking: No. 27 (February 12, 1990)
