Portrait of Pete Sampras

Birthday profile

Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras, American tennis player

Born
August 12, 1971
Age in 2026
55
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1971

About Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras (born August 12, 1971) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 286 weeks (third-most of all time), and finished as the year-end No. 1 six consecutive times. Sampras won 64 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including 14 men's singles majors, which was an all-time record at the time of his retirement: seven Wimbledon Championships, two Australian Opens and an Open Era joint-record five US Opens. He also won five Tour Finals, two Grand Slam Cups, eleven Masters events, and was part of the winning United States Davis Cup teams in 1992 and 1995. Sampras became the youngest male singles champion at the 1990 US Open at just 19 years, 28 days. He claimed his first Wimbledon title in 1993, and would win the title seven times in an eight-year span. Sampras remained the best player for the rest of the decade, finishing each year as No. 1 for a record six consecutive seasons. Following a decline in form at the turn of the century, Sampras claimed his 14th and last major at the 2002 US Open over long-time rival and compatriot Andre Agassi, and retired from the sport thereafter, aged 31. Sampras was a major practitioner of the serve-and-volley style of tennis. His precise and powerful serve, regarded as one of the best in the sport's history, earned him the nickname "Pistol Pete". In 2007, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. One of the most successful tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 286 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 six consecutive times.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Pete Sampras timeline

  1. Sampras became the youngest male singles champion at the 1990 US Open at just 19 years, 28 days.
  2. He also won five Tour Finals, two Grand Slam Cups, eleven Masters events, and was part of the winning United States Davis Cup teams in 1992 and 1995.
  3. He claimed his first Wimbledon title in 1993, and would win the title seven times in an eight-year span.

The world when Pete Sampras was born

Pete Sampras was born in 1971. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1971

  • #1 song"Joy to the World" – Three Dog Night
  • Top movieThe French Connection
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookThe Exorcist – William Peter Blatty

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMuhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier "Fight of the Century"
  • Top headlinePentagon Papers published
  • Technology milestoneFirst email sent by Ray Tomlinson
  • Defining fadHot pants
  • Notable inventionEmail (Ray Tomlinson)
  • World population3.78 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • Also wonMilwaukee Bucks (NBA)
  • U.S. population207.7M

1971 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Pete Sampras's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19712026
Gas$0.36$3.45/gal
Average home$18,100$435,000
Average income$11,800$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.65$11.95
Postage stamp$0.08$0.73
Population207.7M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, ATP Tour. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.