Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras started playing tennis at age seven and is among the most recognizable names in the sport. His tennis idol was Rod Laver and at the early age of 11, he got to practice with Laver. Pete’s early tennis style was as a baseline player, but while making a name for himself playing in the juniors against such names as Michael Chang, and Jim Courier, his coach Pete Fisher switched his game to one of serve and volley. This style would serve Sampras well in his professional career. Of the various court surfaces, grass was his best, as his serves would stay low after bouncing, making it very difficult to return serve. Conversely, clay courts proved tough for Pete, and one title that eluded him was the tournament at Rolan Garos.

Sampras turned pro at age 16, in 1988. While it took Pete a couple of years to win his first pro tournament in 1990, only 3 years later he was ranked Number One on the tour. He maintained a ranking in the top 10 for an amazing 12 consecutive years. Even more remarkable was holding the number one ranking for 6 consecutive years.

Pete Sampras’ record includes 14 Grand Slam titles, still more than any other men’s player in history. His overall record in singles competition is 762 – 222. In Grand Slam events there were 203 wins and only 38 losses. This put Pete at a career prize money level of $43 million, second only to Roger Federer who surpassed the amount in 2008.