A Champion's Mind - Pete Sampras

A few years ago, the idea of writing a book about my life and times in tennis would have seemed as
foreign to me as it might have been surprising to you. After all, I was the guy who let his racket do the
talking. I was the guy who kept his eyes on the prize, leading a very dedicated, disciplined, almost
monkish existence in my quest to accumulate Grand Slam titles. And I was the guy who guarded his
private life and successfully avoided controversy and drama, both in my career and personal life.
But as I settled into life as a former player, I had a lot of time to reflect on where I’d been and what I’d
done, and the way the story of my career might impact people. For starters, I realized that what I did in
tennis probably would be a point of interest and curiosity to my family. If and when my children (and the
members of my large extended family) want to experience and understand what I was about, and what my
times were like, I’d like them to experience it through my eyes. As I write this, both of our sons, Christian
and Ryan, can already throw a ball straight—which my father, Sam, said was my own first sign of athletic
talent. And I’d like for my fans, and tennis fans in general, to see it through my eyes, too. This book is my
legacy.
And there was something else: my ability to fly pretty low beneath the public’s radar was a great
benefit to my career; it helped me stay focused and out of the limelight. That’s how I wanted it. But that
also meant that my career would only be known in a piecemeal way. I liked the idea of pulling all the bits
and pieces together, putting them in perspective, and making the connections that were ignored or not
noticed.
In the course of writing this book, I realized that I led a pretty eventful career without ever letting
individual events overtake it. My first coach spent time in jail; the mentor who was instrumental at the
time when my mature game was really emerging was stricken by cancer and died at an early age; I lost
one of the closest friends I had among the players to a tragic accident. I had some stress-related physical
problems and at least one career-threatening injury—at a time when I was poised to overtake Roy
Emerson as the all-time Grand Slam singles champ. I had my tiffs with fellow players and even my
sponsors and the tennis establishment. Yet those aren’t the things that come to most people’s minds at the
mention of my name. I’m glad and proud of that, but I also want to acknowledge those events and
incidents, and reveal what they meant and how they affected me.
This isn’t one of those score-settling books, though. From the outset, my goal was to write a tightly
focused tennis book—one that tells my story in a way that also celebrates the game, and the period in
which I played. Truth is, I’m a live-and-let-live guy. My lifelong tendency has been to deal with things
head-on and then move on.
I played tennis during a time of sweeping changes. It started with a burst of growth in the level of
international competition, and included features like the revolution in equipment, the intense