"I put on some weight, I wasn't feeling too good about myself" - When Pete Sampras opened up about his difficulties dealing with retirement
Pete Sampras once opened up about his struggles after retirement. The American legend had a remarkable career, winning 14 Grand Slam titles and holding the top spot in the ATP Rankings for 286 weeks, among other achievements.
Sampras played his final match at the 2002 US Open, defeating his compatriot and arch-rival Andre Agassi in the final to lift the trophy. After that, he didn't compete professionally and made his retirement official a year later. However, he subsequently participated in the seniors tour.
In a conversation with the media in 2008, Pete Sampras shared the challenges he faced after retiring from tennis. He admitted that he struggled for three years, gaining weight and feeling unproductive.
The American added that adjusting to a life without the rigorous schedule of the sport was difficult, leaving him with little to do besides playing golf and poker.
"(For) three years I didn't do a thing. I put on some weight. I wasn't feeling too good about myself. Playing golf, playing poker," Sampras said. "You wake up (and say) 'Okay, what am I going to do today?' To be 31, 32 and retired is great but at the same time I've always been a worker, since I was a teenager.
"So to say 'Cold turkey I'm done', at first it was great but after a few years it felt like I needed something more to do," he added.
The 52-year-old continued:
"The last couple of years I've missed it more than when I first retired. But it's a brutal sport this one and it took a lot out of me. I needed a few years to decompress and take a deep breath to get to a point where I'd like to play again."
Pete Sampras discusses the moment he knew it was time to retire
In his biography, 'Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited,' (2020) the American tennis legend revealed how he felt after winning the 2002 US Open.
He initially planned to play at the Australian Open the following year but realized he wasn't ready. He then considered returning to action at Indian Wells or Miami. However, everything felt unbalanced to him, as he lacked the motivation to practice or go to the gym.
"I flew home the night I won the Open and just enjoyed that," Pete Sampras said. "Two or three months later I was talking to [coach] Paul [Annacone] about what was next and getting ready for Australia, but I was not emotionally ready."
“So I felt I would see how I felt about playing Indian Wells or Miami in 2003. It just seemed unbalanced to me. I didn’t feel like doing the practice or the gym work," he added.
Sampras also mentioned that the moment he knew he was going to retire was when he watched Lleyton Hewitt play his first-round match at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.
"The moment when I knew I was going to retire was when I was in Palm Desert watching Lleyton Hewitt play a first-round match at Wimbledon in 2003, thinking that was the last place I wanted to be. That was when I knew I was done," the 14-time Major champion said.