Former Tennis Star Pete Sampras Spotted in L.A. During Rare Public Appearance After Retirement Over 2 Decades Ago
NEED TO KNOW
Pete Sampras, the former tennis star known as "Pistol Pete," was spotted during a rare public appearance on June 3
The athlete was seen while he made a coffee run in Beverly Hills
Sampras, who retired over two decades ago in 2002, is well-known as one of the greatest tennis players of all time
Pete Sampras was seen out and about during a rare public appearance.
The former tennis star, 53, was spotted making a coffee run in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Tuesday, June 3.
Sampras wore a dark gray Nike T-shirt and gray shorts while he carried two drinks in a beverage holder in one hand and a shopping bag in the other.
Advertisement
The athlete was last seen publicly in December 2024. Before that, he made a rare public appearance at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open, where he played with Novak Djokovic in an exhibition match.
London Entertainment / SplashNews Pete Sampras on June 3.
Pete Sampras on June 3.
Sampras — also referred to as 'Pistol Pete' for his serve — is well-known as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
He began his professional tennis career in 1988, when he was 16 years old. Sampras retired in 2002 after winning a then-record 14 Grand Slam titles and ending the year ranked as the ATP No. 1 player in the world from 1993 to 1998.
The Hall-of-Famer, inducted in 2007, famously won seven Wimbledon titles, five U.S. Open championships and two Australian Opens over the course of his illustrious career.
Advertisement
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Dimitri Iundt/Corbis/VCG via Getty Pete Sampras in 1990
Pete Sampras in 1990
In recent years, Sampras has remained largely away from the public eye.
Back in October 2023, he revealed that his wife Bridgette Wilson-Sampras had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
In a statement released via the AP Tour on X, Sampras said, "As most have come to know, I am a pretty quiet and private person. However, this past year has been an exceptionally challenging time for my family, and I have decided to share what's been going on."
Advertisement
"Last December, my wife, Bridgette, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer," Sampras continued at the time. "Since then, she has had major surgery, pushed through chemotherapy and continues with targeted maintenance therapy."
CAROL NEWSOM/AFP via Getty Pete Sampras after defeating Andre Agassi on Sept. 9, 1990
Pete Sampras after defeating Andre Agassi on Sept. 9, 1990
The tennis star further opened up about how "hard" it was to "watch someone you love go through a challenge like this," and praised the couple's sons, Christian and Ryan, for "stepping up" and being "such strong supporters" for their parents.
Sampras also shared praise for Wilson-Sampras in his statement, calling her an "incredible mom and wife through it all."
Advertisement
Sampras has been with his wife, a former actress who starred in movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Wedding Planner, since 1999.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
The couple was introduced by former Los Angeles Lakers Vice President of Public Relations John Black.
Sampras asked Black to connect him with Bridgette after seeing her in a film, which he shared in his 2008 book, A Champion's Mind.
'There was a bright spot to that otherwise terrible late summer — my injury was directly responsible for my wife and me meeting,' Sampras wrote. 'While I was hurt, I was watching this movie, Love Stinks, with a friend, John Black. Bridgette Wilson, an actress in the film, caught my eye. Actually, she blew me away when I saw her. I thought she was stunning.'
Read the original article on People
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
36 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Best U.S. Open groups: Lefties; best putters; longest and shortest
OAKMONT, Pa. – Matt Vogt, the 34-year-old dentist and former Oakmont caddie who hails from Pittsburgh, will strike the opening tee shot Thursday morning to commence play at this 125th U.S. Open. It will be a notable moment for Vogt, the club and the city. But the action will really get going about 45 minutes later when some of the star power tees off. Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele are grouped with newly minted Fireball and reigning U.S. Amateur champion Josele Ballester. And starting early Thursday off No. 10 will be European Ryder Cuppers Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose. The afternoon wave on Thursday is highlighted by Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler, and Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson. Golf Channel Staff, Those aren't the only notable groupings, though. Here is a six-pack of other great groupings: 7:18 a.m. (1)/1:03 p.m. (10) – Harris English, Tommy Fleetwood, Keegan Bradley One could argue that aside from the stars, these three guys with U.S. Open games have three of the best chances to win this week at Oakmont. 7:51 a.m. (1)/ 1:36 p.m. (10) – Akshay Bhatia, Matt McCarty, Robert MacIntyre This all-lefty trio is a favorite of longtime USGA writer David Shefter, who hits from the wrong side of the ball as well. 8:02 a.m. (1)/ 1:47 p.m. (10) – Cam Davis, Davis Thompson, Thomas Detry Love the evolution here as we go from Davis to David and then from Thompson to Thomas. 1:14 p.m. (1)/ 7:29 a.m. (10) – Sam Burns, Nico Echavarria, Denny McCarthy Who is the best putter in the world? These three guys are ranked first, sixth and seventh on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting – and top three in this field – while McCarthy is a past No. 1 putter on Tour. 7:29 a.m. (10)/1:14 p.m. (1) – Ben Griffin, Andrew Novak, Maverick McNealy Captain Keegan will be paying extra close attention to this group. All three are fighting for automatic Ryder Cup berths and will otherwise certainly be in the captain's-pick discussion. 8:13 a.m. (10)/1:58 p.m. (1) – Niklas Norgaard, Brian Campbell, Justin Lower Norgaard can send it, ranking second behind only Aldrich Potgieter in driving distance on the PGA Tour. The longest in this week's field (maybe besides Vogt) is grouped with the shortest in Campbell, who ranks last on Tour at 275.6 yards, 44.4 yards shorter than Norgaard.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
U.S. Open: Rory McIlroy says it's time to 'get my stuff together'
Rory McIlroy enjoyed his Masters victory in April. Still enjoying it, actually. That can be a good thing. He had been trying to win the damn thing for nearly two decades, after all, so no fault in stopping to smell the flowers. Advertisement But the day job never stops, and when you're trying to win golf tournaments — trying to beat the likes of Scottie Scheffler, who's still chasing his own career grand slam — there's going to be a professional cost. That cost showed up in May at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, when McIlroy finished T47, and last week at the Canadian Open, when he missed the cut altogether. Turns out, even when you're Rory McIlroy — one of only six players to win all four majors in the history of the sport — you still need to put in the practice. "I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year," McIlroy explained Tuesday. "It was nice to sort of see the fruits of my labor come to fruition and have everything happen. Advertisement "You have to enjoy that. You have to enjoy what you've just accomplished. I certainly feel like I'm still doing that and I will continue to do that. At some point, you have to realize that there's a little bit more golf left to play this season. ... Weeks like Quail Hollow or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way, to be like, okay, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process." That process will continue Thursday morning at Oakmont Country Club, where McIlroy will try to avenge the brutal defeat at last year's U.S. Open at the hands of Bryson DeChambeau. If you don't remember the two short putts he missed in the closing holes that would have won him that tournament, he does. Had he not won at Augusta in April, that would have been the storyline heading into this tournament. He would have been asked about it a dozen different times in a dozen different ways. But he wasn't asked about it once on Tuesday. Funny how a Masters victory can reshape an entire narrative. Rory McIlroy signs autographs after his practice round prior to the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. () (David Cannon via Getty Images) Instead, he talked about spending more time on his hobbies — he and caddie Harry Diamond played a lot of tennis last weekend — and taking trips with his daughter — "Giving Poppy that opportunity to see the world at such a young age I think is a wonderful opportunity for her" — and just having fun, the kind of fun one allows themselves when a certain weight has been lifted. Advertisement "Just trying to do things that I enjoy and get back to having hobbies and filling my time with the things that I want to do," he explained. But now, fun's over, and it's back to the grind — a grueling, 6-inch-thick, rough-infested slog in the form of Oakmont where, lucky for him, he'll tee it up Thursday morning with fellow Irishman and good buddy Shane Lowry for the first two rounds. "I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit," he said. "But here at Oakmont, I certainly can't relax this week."
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Clay Aiken says he'll need to be sedated as son trains to be a pilot
Singer Clay Aiken's son, whom he shares with longtime friend Jaymes Foster, is now 16 years old. And he's already working toward a major life goal. While talking with People, Aiken revealed that his son Parker Aiken is training to become a pilot. 'He's known what he wants to do for, gosh, his whole life,' the former American Idol contestant revealed to People. 'It was a little weird to me because I didn't know what I wanted to do — I still don't.' According to the proud, albeit nervous, father, Aiken said Parker has never once 'changed his mind' when it comes to fulfilling his dreams of being a pilot, sharing that the teenager has 'just went and did his first solo flight two weeks ago, so a big milestone there.' 'Now we're planning on the next one, which I'll need even more Xanax for,' Aiken admitted to People, noting that flight will consist of flying across the state on his own. 'I'm not going to be able to see the plane,' Aiken explained, saying he has yet to join Parker on one of his flights, although his mom Jaymes Foster has. 'You're gonna have to sedate me. Just call an anesthesiologist because I don't have the nerves for that,' despite the rave reviews Parker has received from his instructors. 'His instructors all have said he's better than the adults that they've taught, but like I said, he's been focused on it for years, and that's what he wants to do,' Aiken told People. 'I'm not worried about his skill level. I'm worried about the plane. I told him, 'When you are flying in a big plane, we can talk, but I don't do those JFK Jr. planes.'' 'He knows what he's doing,' Aiken conceded, per People. 'His idol is [pilot] Sully Sullenberger,' who famously landed a commercial plane in the Hudson River after a bird strike disabled both engines, 'and he wants to be as good as him. And that's what he puts his energy into, and I think he is.' Aiken appeared on the second season of Fox's 'American Idol' TV show, according to his website. He finished second place on the show in 2003, TV Insider reported.
