85+ Pete Sampras Quotes On Coaching, Success And Serena Williams

Pete Sampras was an American professional tennis player who was active from 1988 to 2002. He was ranked world No. 1 for a record six consecutive years and won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open Era. He is widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Pete Sampras on life, coaching, leadership.

Top 10 Pete Sampras Quotes

1. People know me. I'm not going to produce any cartwheels out there. I'm not going to belong on Comedy Central. I'll always be a tennis player, not a celebrity.
2. The difference of great players is at a certain point in a match they raise their level of play and maintain it. Lesser players play great for a set, but then less.
3. I made it look so easy on court all those years. No one realized how hard I had to work. No one realized how much I had to put into it. They underestimated my intensity.
4. I never wanted to be the great guy or the colorful guy or the interesting guy. I wanted to be the guy who won titles.
5. I let my racket do the talking. That's what I am all about, really. I just go out and win tennis matches.
6. Anybody who has played sports and says they have never choked is lying to you.
7. Success is walking out of here with the title, and anything less is not good enough in my book.
8. It's one-on-one out there, man. There ain't no hiding. I can't pass the ball.
9. I'm not worried about the weekend, I'm worried about Saturday.
10. I loved Wimbledon and what it meant, but the surface felt uncomfortable. I just didn't like it, I was a hard-court guy, a Californian kid.

Pete Sampras Short Quotes

• I didn't have a big fat Greek wedding, but I have a lot of fat Greek friends.
• I could be a jerk and get a lot more publicity, but that's not who I am.
• Baseball is America's pastime, and that record is absolutely huge in the States.
• When you retire you want to get as far away as possible from the game for a couple of years.
• Once the fifth set comes, it's a matter of nerves.
• Media access to us is more regulated than in golf.
• I'm maybe not quite as sharp as I used to be.
• I think the image of golfers is terrific, and rightly so.
• I don't think it really matters, who plays first. Whatever they do, they do.
• Anything can happen out there on any court.

Pete Sampras Quotes About Life

I've always led a pretty simple life, with few extravagances. The money in tennis never drove me. — Pete Sampras

I'm enjoying my retirement, enjoying my life. I have two kids and a lot of my time is spent chasing these two animals. — Pete Sampras

People wrote me off, but I believed in myself. I got the confidence back, and it grew and grew. I won my first major and my last at the place that changed my life. — Pete Sampras

I've got a great wife, a great life. — Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras Quotes About Serve

I am going to hold serve the majority of the time. It is nice to have a little time to return serve. — Pete Sampras

There's always one shot that I can rely on when I'm not hitting the ball that well, is my serve. — Pete Sampras

I still feel like my game is very dangerous. I always will have my serve. — Pete Sampras

You kind of live and die by the serve. — Pete Sampras

My serve was there, everything was just clicking. Those are the days you dream about, especially in a final. — Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras Quotes About Win

Winning is about taking your opponent's heart out and squeezing it until all the blood has come out, even the very last drop. There are no prizes for a funny loser. — Pete Sampras

For so long people have just taken what I do for granted. It is not easy to do year-in, year-out, to win Grand Slams and be No. 1. — Pete Sampras

If I win and play well, then the ranking will take care of itself. Defending points is really not a problem. Just go out and play and not worry about it. — Pete Sampras

I feel much more respected in Europe than I do in the States from the press and from the people. Americans expect me to win every match I play. — Pete Sampras

As long as I feel like I can win majors and contend, I'll continue to play. — Pete Sampras

All I cared about in tennis was winning. — Pete Sampras

By putting pressure on myself to develop a great game, I had less pressure to win. These days, I tell kids that the way I grew up, it wasn't about winning. It was about playing well, about playing the "right" way. That approach helped me enjoy the game and develop mine to its maximum potential. — Pete Sampras

Choking is being in a position to win, and then experiencing some critical failure of nerve or spirit. That never happened to me. And I can't help but think it was because I was never afraid to lose. — Pete Sampras

After I went through two years of not winning an event, what kept me going was winning one more major. Once I won that last U.S. Open, I spent the next six months trying to figure out what was next. Slowly my passion for the sport just vanished. I had nothing left to prove. — Pete Sampras

In tennis, you can make a couple of mistakes and still win. Not in golf. — Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras Quotes About Tennis

Golfers are forever working on mechanics. My tennis swing hasn't changed in 10 years. — Pete Sampras

I admire the way golfers handle themselves. But tennis players are a lot younger, as a rule. There aren't many teenagers on the golf tour. — Pete Sampras

I guess I get my strength from my legs, which are also important in tennis. — Pete Sampras

When I committed to playing a little tennis in some exhibitions, it was the best thing for me. It got me in shape. It got me out of the house. It got me doing something I love to do. — Pete Sampras

Throughout my career, my mind rarely wandered, and I was never sidetracked by distractions, no matter what I was going through off the court. — Pete Sampras

My goal one day is to be in the same sentence as Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. — Pete Sampras

If Davis Cup was a little bit less or once every two years, I would be more inclined to play. But the way it is now, it is too much tennis for me. — Pete Sampras

Tennis is seen all around the world; if I am home or anywhere in the country, United States, people will stare. — Pete Sampras

Tennis obviously isn't as popular as baseball in the States. — Pete Sampras

In tennis, you can make a couple of mistakes and still win. Not in golf. I played three rounds in that Tahoe event, and I was drained. Mentally, not physically. — Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras Quotes About People

People watched the Masters. It was a huge event. It was at The Garden. Now that it is over here in Europe, it has lost a little bit of popularity in the States. — Pete Sampras

A couple hundred people around, and I'm shaking. — Pete Sampras

I want to end my career on my terms, not on what people think I should do. — Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras Famous Quotes And Sayings

A champion is suppose to hate to lose, and it wasn't like I was ever crazy about the idea. But I learned to deal with losing without having my spirit or confidence broken, which would help immensely over time, not just in the big picture but even in specific matches when I found myself in a jam. Fear of losing is a terrible thing. — Pete Sampras

When you go through certain moments of your career and you're struggling, it just takes time. Time heals, when you're a little bit down. — Pete Sampras

Retirement is a work in progress. I try to figure out my day, and what I know about myself is that I need structure. — Pete Sampras

I don`t know why, but I love the dog eat dog nature of tennis. It`s real, it`s brutal and there`s no hiding place - it's like a one to one street fight. I love the intensity that comes with knowing you walk off court either a winner or a loser. It`s daunting but very exciting. There is no one to blame except yourself, no one cares who comes second. — Pete Sampras

The way I hold the club, I've got my hand way over, like I'm driving a motorcycle. My Kawasaki grip. — Pete Sampras

Players aren't quite as intimidated by my name. — Pete Sampras

There is no doubt about how hard it is to stay on top in any sport, but to do it in an individual sport for the majority of your career, it is not easy. — Pete Sampras

Once the US Open is over in the States, mainstream America doesn't really follow tennis, unless you are a true tennis fan. — Pete Sampras

I've been into golf, trying to get into the gym to stay somewhat fit. I've got two boys now, they're active kids. — Pete Sampras

When I tied the record five years in a row, even over in Europe, it wasn't really talked about. It is disap-pointing because it is one of the toughest things to do in sports. — Pete Sampras

It's not my place to tell you whom to vote for, to take any political stand, to tell you what religion to believe in. I'm an athlete. I can influence certain things, but when I see other athletes and celebrities telling you whom to vote for, I actually get a bit offended. — Pete Sampras

When you struggle winning matches all year and you don't really get into a groove or rhythm, you just can't expect to just come in here and have it click. — Pete Sampras

I don't look at myself as a historical icon, but the reality of it is, yeah, I am playing for history now. — Pete Sampras

There should be more of an off-season in the game. I think you need to have less tournaments, more of a break at the end of the year so guys can recover. — Pete Sampras

With this ranking system, the more you play, the better off you are. — Pete Sampras

The way I look at the top five, (Rod) Laver, (Roger) Federer, myself, Borg and (Ivan) Lendl. I think those five guys dominated their generations better than anyone. Maybe Roger will dominate better than any one of the other four. Maybe I put Andre (Agassi) as kind of six through 10 with, you know, (John) McEnroe and (Jimmy) Connors, kind of those guys. That's kind of how I see it. — Pete Sampras

That's not what I'm looking forward to, just being home and just kind of not really sure kind of what to do with myself. — Pete Sampras

I don't look so much for tips. But when they interview a Nicklaus or a Palmer, I'm all ears. I listen to guys who have done it, been successful for years. — Pete Sampras

Where I fall down is my short game. I don't practice enough, and when I have to take a half swing from 50 yards out, that's trouble. — Pete Sampras

My goal one day is to be in the same sentence as Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. If I can match them for 10 years, I'd be in their company. They were class acts. That's what I'd like to be. — Pete Sampras

The future is flying home. That's the immediate future. But long-distance future, I plan on being back. I'm not going to end my time here with that loss. — Pete Sampras

I hate to lose, and I do whatever I can to win, and if it is ugly, it is ugly. — Pete Sampras

When you come back strong, you are going to have little nagging things that you can usually play through, but every now and again, it is to the point where you can't play. — Pete Sampras

What I've done in the game is always going to stick, no matter what happens. — Pete Sampras

I may be a step slower than I was before reaching 30, but I'm doing all the right things. I guess there are some guys who would take it easy in the latter part of their careers, but I'm stepping it up. — Pete Sampras

I did it my way, and I have no regrets when I look back on my career that it was just a big focus for me. — Pete Sampras

I am here for the goal, and the goal is to try to do it again. — Pete Sampras

I can't just wake up and watch TV and do nothing. I need a day off working out, seeing the wife, play a little golf, see my kids. — Pete Sampras

Most of the time after the US Open, it is kind of like you are trying to finish strong. But to do it five years and maybe six is something that has never been done before, so it is a huge challenge. — Pete Sampras

It is nice to walk out on a court to have it packed. — Pete Sampras

I'm staying in shape, working out. — Pete Sampras

The only person that I have met, that I have ever been in awe of, is Eddie Vedder. — Pete Sampras

I'm not going to give in to the critics. I'm going to stop on my own terms, not on when someone else thinks I should. — Pete Sampras

Life Lessons by Pete Sampras

1. Pete Sampras taught us the importance of hard work and dedication. He worked tirelessly to become one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and his success serves as an example of what can be achieved with hard work and determination.
2. He also showed us the importance of staying humble and gracious in the face of success. Despite his many accomplishments, Sampras remained humble and gracious, never letting his success go to his head.
3. Finally, Sampras taught us the importance of having a strong support system. He was very close with his family, and credited them with helping him stay focused and motivated throughout his career.