Tennis legend is completely unrecognizable as he is seen grabbing a coffee from Starbucks – three months on from revealing wife’s heartbreaking ovarian cancer diagnosis
Tennis icon Pete Sampras has shocked fans with a drastically different look – more than a decade after his retirement from the world of professional sports.
The fourteen-time Major winner is widely recognized as one of the best tennis players ever. His last Grand Slam came in 2002 at the US Open, shortly before he gave it all up.
Now, at 52, Sampras is notoriously private and does very little TV work. He chooses to stay out of the spotlight and keep his personal life to himself.
That may be even more true now, three months after Sampras’ heartbreaking revelation that his wife Bridgette is suffering from ovarian cancer.
In a statement on the ATP Tour in October, the American legend said: βAs most know, I am a pretty quiet and reserved person. However, this past year has been an exceptionally challenging time for my family, and I’ve decided to share what’s been going on.
Pete Sampras has been spotted grabbing a coffee at his local Starbucks in California
The tennis legend is known for his private life and has not been seen much since his retirement
Sampras won Wimbledon seven times, but looks very different after hanging up his racket
βLast December, my wife, Bridgette, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She has since undergone major surgery, chemotherapy and continues targeted maintenance therapy.
βIt’s hard to see someone you love go through a challenge like this. But it was great to see our boys step up and be such strong advocates for Bridgette, myself and each other.β
Since then, there have been very few updates on the condition of the former Miss Teen USA, who went on to become a successful actress starring opposite Adam Sandler, Sarah Michelle Geller and Jennifer Lopez.
Now, however, Sampras has been spotted grabbing a coffee at Starbucks at the Beverly Glen Shopping Center in Beverly Hills, California.
Sampras smiled for photographers as he walked away from the Starbucks restaurant
Sampras and his wife Bridgette have two children and have both retired to focus on family life
Bridgette, the former Miss Teen USA, is currently battling ovarian cancer
The tennis legend was dressed in blue jeans and a green zip-up Nike jacket and had three iced coffees with him as he left the restaurant.
Sampras smiled briefly at onlookers as he walked past photographers who took a rare photo of him.
He and Bridgette have two children from their 23-year marriage – Ryan and Christian – and the family still lives in California.
During his career, Sampras was the best player in the world and has two Australian Open titles, five US Opens and a whopping seven Wimbledon victories to his name.
He has a total of 64 singles titles to his name β the ninth best in the Open Era β and earned more than $43 million in prize money during his career.
Sampras smiles after beating his bitter rival β and compatriot β Andre Agassi at Wimbledon
American tennis legend Sampras plays a backhand during his heyday in the 1990s
He officially retired in the summer of 2003 and appeared sporadically in exhibition matches in the years that followed.
In November 2010, Sampras revealed the sad news that many of his trophies and memorabilia had been stolen from a public storage facility in California, including an Olympic ring, an Australian Open trophy and two Davis Cups.
In the months that followed, the police were able to recover many of the stolen items.
After the birth of their second son in 2005, Sampras and his wife Bridgette both stepped away from the spotlight in an attempt to focus on family life.