Latest Posts

The Incentive Problem Hidden Inside NTRP Ratings Why the NTRP Ratings System Is Complex, Not Just Complicated The Cruelest Game: Chasing Greatness in Professional Tennis The Code, Principle 13: Why You Cannot Call Your Own First Serve Out Soccer Bell Touches for Better Tennis Footwork Tennis Beyond the Headlines: August 17, 2026 Try Harder? What a DEF CON Challenge Teaches Us About Resilience

Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited

On By Teresa Merklin

I eagerly anticipated the recent release of Steve Flink’s biography of Pete Sampras. It is not exactly a “hot take” to say that Sampras is the greatest male American player of all time. It is not even close. His fourteen grand slam championships tower above the 8 won by both Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi. He was ranked #1 in the world for an astonishing six consecutive years.