Pete Sampras

American-born tennis champion, Pete Sampras, nicknamed “Pistol Pete” for his quick and aggressive play, turned tennis pro in 1988 at age 16. During his fifteen-year pro tennis career, he was in the World Top 10 ranking for twelve consecutive years. Sampras holds the record for all-time total career prize money at over $43 Million. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007.

Only two years after turning pro, Sampras captured the Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. At age 19, he defeated Andre Agassi to become the youngest ever male singles champion at the U.S. Open. As Agassi and Sampras became the chief tennis pro rivals in the 1990s, Sampras defeated Agassi 20 of their 34 matches.

By 1993, Sampras garnered the World Number 1 ranking for the first time. Sampras claimed three consecutive titles at Wimbledon, from 1993 to 1995. After losing the Wimbledon title in 1996, he went on the become Wimbledon’s most successful player by winning four more consecutive titles 1997 through 2000.

In his fifteen-year career, Sampras captured 64 singles titles and reached the finals in another 24 matches. The French Open Grand Slam was the only title he did not manage to win during his career. Sampras won the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Championship five times, and was named the ATP Player of the Year a record six times, from 1993 to 1998. He last played as an ATP pro in the 2002 U.S. Open, when he won the tournament. After his retirement in 2002, many consider him the greatest pro tennis player of all time.