Pete Sampras, nicknamed Pistol Pete for his powerful strokes, is considered one of the best tennis players of all time, having won 14 Grand Slam titles, five ATP Finals and having been world number 1 for 286 weeks. And having finished six seasons in first place in the rankings, moreover consecutively.

Despite never having achieved the Career Grand Slam, he is remembered for his seven successes on grass at Wimbledon out of seven finals played, five at the US Open and two at the Australian Open.

An attacking and fast-court player, with his flat, explosive, precise shots and serve & volley skills, he was the protagonist of a heated rivalry with his compatriot Andre Agassi, considered one of the most exciting in the history of tennis also for the spectacularity deriving from the comparison between the two different styles of play.

He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007.

Sampras was born in Potomac, Maryland, on August 12, 1971, the third child of four children of Soterios Sampras, known as Sammy, and Georgia Vroustouris.
On September 30, 2000, he married actress Bridgette Wilson. Christian Charles was born on November 21, 2002 and on July 29, 2005, the couple had Ryan

Nikolaos. The Sampras family resides in Lake Sherwood, California.

At the age of three he found a tennis racket in the cellar of his house and began to practice dribbling against the wall. At the age of seven he moved his family to Palos Verdes, California, where the warmer climate allowed him to devote more time to tennis and start training in earnest. In these early years his favorite player was the Australian Rod Laver. Through the Jack Kramer Tennis Club he began to participate in youth tournaments showcasing his talent and at the age of eleven he managed to play a match with his idol Laver.