"Attack me all you want, but don't bring my wife into it" - When Pete Sampras was angered by media targeting wife Bridgette Wilson for his poor form

Pete Sampras once shared that his toughest challenge during his career came in the final years before his retirement. He said that journalists were blaming his marriage to Bridgette Wilson for his decline in form, which added extra pressure.

Sampras is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Alongside Andre Agassi, he was a key figure in American tennis during the late 1990s. The two had a fierce rivalry and together they won a combined total of 22 Grand Slam titles.

Sampras retired three years before Agassi. The younger American played his last professional match at the 2002 US Open, where he won, but he didn't officially announce his retirement until a year later.

During a Q&A session with Time in 2008, a fan asked Pete Sampras about the most difficult period of his career. He replied:

"Probably my last couple years on tour. I wasn't playing well, and I had just gotten married, and the press was on my wife about it--that [I was losing] because I married her. You can attack me all you want, but don't bring my wife into it."

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Pete Sampras: "My wife pretty much put her career on hold to travel with me"

Pete Sampras and Bridgette Wilson pictured at the 2001 ESPY Awards | Image Source: Getty

In an old interview, Pete Sampras shared his frustration with constantly facing questions about retirement and whether his marriage with Bridgette Wilson was affecting his performance every time he walked into a press conference.

"Every time I walked into a press conference or did interviews about retirement and stopping and marriage, I was so tired of it. I had enough and I just wanted to win one more Major," he said.

The American explained that the questions "bothered" him because his wife had put her own career on hold to travel with him, allowing them to be together while he pursued his ambitions.

"My wife pretty much put her career on hold to travel with me because we wanted to be together. But it was hard, it was taxing on our marriage," Sampras said.

"There's no question. I wasn't doing well, few people in the press blamed her, and that bothered me. You can criticize me but don't criticize my family," he added.

Sampras' legendary career saw him win an impressive 14 Grand Slam titles. He also held the World No. 1 ranking for a total of 286 weeks, among many other accomplishments.