One of the top tennis players of all time
Pete Sampras is a Greek American tennis player with major achievements, who became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all times.
Sampras was born on August 12th, 1971, in Washington. After his parents migrated to the United States, he started playing tennis at a young age and when he turned 17, he joined the professional tours. Apparently, tennis runs in the family, as his sister Stella won the NCAA in 1998 as a student in UCLA and she’s currently the UCLA women’s tennis head coach.
Pete Sampras first won the USA Open at the age of 19 and 4 times overall. He also won the Wimbledon 7 times and the Australian Open 2 times overall. He was ranked the World Number One for a total of 286 weeks from 1993 through 1998.
His games against Andre Agassi have gained world popularity and Sampras eventually won 20 of the 34 matches he played against him.
In 2002, he retired at the age of 31, 2 years after being married to actress Bridgette Wilson and giving birth to 2 children.
Pete Sampras has received several awards and distinctions, like the U.S. Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year Award in 1997. He was the first tennis player to receive this award.
