How well Pete Sampras’ sister performed on the WTA Tour before becoming a top college coach

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Pete Sampras’ tennis success has been well documented, but what happened to his older sister?

The younger of the Sampras siblings, Pete, won 14 Grand Slam titles as a professional and held the ATP number one ranking for 286 weeks.

What many fans don’t know is that his older sister, Stella Sampras, also played tennis and was active on the WTA Tour for a few years.

But how did she get on, and did she ever come close to matching her brother?

Stella Sampras attempted to qualify for the US Open in 1992

Stella Sampras was a promising junior, picking up several impressive wins on the Collegiate tour.

Playing for the UCLA Bruins, she earned All-American honors four times and won the NCAA doubles championship.

She then won two ITF titles, as Sampras geared up for a switch to the big leagues.

• 1992 ITF Woodlands, United States
• 1992 ITF New Braunfels, United States

Her career peaked later that year, when she received a Wild Card into the US Open qualifying tournament.

Needing to win three matches to qualify for her first Grand Slam main draw, Sampras met another American, Heather Ludloff, in round one.

Falling at the first hurdle, she lost in straight sets to Ludloff, 6-1, 7-5.

She retired shortly after, having reached a career-high ranking of 248th in singles and 142nd in doubles.

Not prepared to leave tennis entirely, Sampras became the head coach of UCLA women’s tennis four years later.

29 years on, Sampras remains in the role and continues to provide support for the next generation of tennis stars.

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She may not have matched her brother’s efforts on the professional tour, but how did they match up during their younger years?

Stella Sampras claimed she was beating Pete Sampras until he turned 14

In a 2010 video on the ‘Pac-12‘ YouTube Channel, the Sampras siblings reflected upon their rivalry as juniors.

“Every summer, every day we were playing, either drilling with each other or playing sets against each other, and it got to a point where our sets were getting more competitive,” said Stella Sampras.

“I didn’t want to lose to a younger brother; he didn’t want to lose to a girl.”

“It was pretty intense at times; there were for sure moments where we argued and fought a little bit,” added Pete Sampras.

The Sampras’ agreed that their rivalry was intense, but there was one thing that they couldn’t agree on…

“He thinks he was a lot younger when he started beating me, but I think he was much older,” said Stella Sampras.

“Maybe 14, 15, that he started beating me, but he thinks he was probably like 11 or 12.”

“She says I was like 14,” said Pete Sampras.

“I’m thinking 11.

“She says 14… I won the [US] Open at 19, so I think she’s probably a little bit off with her numbers.”

Whenever it was, those battles certainly played a role in Pete Sampras’ success on the ATP Tour.

During his career, he broke the record for men’s singles Grand Slam wins (Open Era) and now sits fourth in the all-time list.

Most Grand Slam titles (men’s singles – Open Era)

He has also spent more weeks ranked number one in the world than anyone not named Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer.

Most weeks at number one (ATP Tour)

Unfortunately for Sampras, any claim to the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all time) label has been ruined by the success of the ‘big three’ of Djokovic, Federer, and Rafael Nadal.

They are the only three male players in Open Era history to surpass 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, and they dominated the sport for a generation.

That’s not to say Sampras won’t be remembered, though, as his legacy remains intact as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, American players of all time.