Sampras ready to venture into post-tennis career
Posted by ippcp on 3/9/2003 (Views: 485)
[March 7, 2003 Darren Rovell, ESPN.com] Pete Sampras won't be playing in a tournament again next week, but
he'll have plenty to do besides spend time with his wife, Bridgette Wilson, and his 3-month-old son, Christian. That's because Sampras, who holds the career Grand Slam tournament titles record of 14, is lining up his business future as his tennis career winds down.
Sampras has become active in two business ventures, as a financial stakeholder in The Tennis Channel and the Pete Sampras Tennis Academy, both of which are expected to begin this year.
In December 2001, Sampras bought a stake in the round-the-clock cable channel with which he will have a presence both behind the scenes and on the air.
Sampras has told network executives he wants to have an instructional show and a behind-the-scenes look at Sampras will be the first episode of the channel's personality show, "No Strings," said the channel's
president and founder Steve Bellamy. While waiting for the launch, Sampras has been making appearances, picking up the phone and writing letters for the network.
"He has always told me that he is very envious of (former hockey great and current Phoenix Coyotes managing partner) Wayne Gretzky," Bellamy said. "Wayne was the top dog in the game and he remained on top when he got into the business world. Pete wants to follow the same path, and I know he'll be successful at it. If you can succeed in tennis, which is as physically challenging as boxing and as mentally challenging as chess, you can succeed in anything."
Sampras also will be busy managing the Pete Sampras Tennis Academy, a training camp for ultra-competitive up-and-comers. The academy will open in September at The Home Depot Center, a 85-acre sports complex in
Carson, Calif., that will house a 13,000-seat tennis stadium. Sampras is an equal partner with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which developed and will operate the facility, in the tennis academy business.
"He's been involved in every detail to date, from the budgeting of the project to identifying types of programming to writing the actual curriculum for the academy," said Bill Peterson, AEG's senior vice
president for events. "Since he's putting his name on it, he cares about his reputation and is totally committed to make this a special place for young players."
Sampras should have plenty of opportunities in the corporate world, if he chooses to pursue them.
"Pete has always been the consummate professional," said Steve Rosner, a partner of 16W Marketing, which represents retired athletes including Howie Long, Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason. "I definitely think he's one of those guys that will allow himself to get more involved in the marketing side when he's no longer playing."
Hiring retired athletes also minimizes the risk should a player in an advertising campaign go down with an injury. Four NFL spokesmen for Campbell's Soup -- Terrell Davis, Kurt Warner, Jerome Bettis and
Donovan McNabb -- were sidelined with injuries last season.
Although Sampras' personality has been labeled by many as boring, Rosner says "it was because Andre Agassi was so outrageous, it made Pete look more bland than he really was." Sampras could easily make
$750,000 to $1 million by signing a three-year deal with a company to make appearances at the U.S. Open, according to Rosner. Speaking bureaus have said that Sampras would command at least $40,000 for public speaking engagements.
But Sampras, who has made more than $43 million on the court during his career, is known for asking for the sky. In a highly publicized battle in January 2002, Sampras announced he was not renewing with Nike -- which has a building named after him on their Beaverton, Ore., campus -- because he felt insulted during the negotiations process. Months later, he agreed to wear the swoosh again.
"Pete has made so much money over the years that in order for him to do something, he asks for very high prices that are usually unrealistic," said Ryan Schinman, president of Platinum Rye Entertainment, a
marketing firm that has pitched deals to Sampras.
"People are going to want to work with him for his durability, reliability and recognizability, but he has to realize that he's not going to be getting a Grand Slam paycheck."
oké, most már megvan. :) elolvastam. amúgy a dolgozóban itt feszít egy pete-poszter a gépem felett, csak úgy a miheztartás végett a többieknek. :) mentem, szia!
Despite his record of 14 grand slam singles titles, Sampras, 31, has received new motivation by developments in tennis training and technology.
"He has been given a racquet with a bigger head and he's excited with how much more power and control it gives him," said Brett Stephens.
Egy Sampras-fan már le is fotózta tegnapelőtt az új ütővel,(gondolom edzés közben) de sajna elszúrta a linket,mert csak kis piros x látszik.:(
Reménykedjünk!
Gooooo Peeeete!!!!
Sampras withdraws from Arizona event, ponders future
By Matthew Cronin
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Fourteen-time grand slam champion Pete Sampras has pulled out of next month's Franklin Templeton Classic and is still considering whether he will return to the sport at all.
"I talked to Pete this morning and he's still trying to figure out whether it makes sense to continue," his brother Gus, the tournament director of Scottsdale, told Reuters on Friday.
"He said he doesn't want to retire right now and maybe have to come out of retirement later. He's just not sure."
Sampras has been replaced in the draw by world number one Lleyton Hewitt, who has been given a wild card for the March 3-9 event.
The withdrawal marks the second time Sampras has delayed his comeback.
Last week, he pulled out of a San Jose Open, saying he was insufficiently prepared to rejoin the tour.
"He's practicing and conditioning, but he doesn't feel like his game is at the level he wants it to be to compete," Gus Sampras said.
"He feels like he needs to practice more, but where that's going to lead, I don't know."
Sampras is next scheduled to play in the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells starting from March 10.
Gus Sampras said he would like to see his younger brother play on.
"It was double whammy for me," Gus said.
"I'm disappointed because our event lost a great player, but I'm also upset as I believe he has the potential to do great things again. But he has to decide that himself."
Sampras hasn't played a tournament since winning the U.S. Open in September and was contemplating retirement in the autumn.
His wife, actress Bridgette Wilson, gave birth to the couple's first son, Christian, in December.
Hewitt hasn't played a regular tournament since being upset in the fourth round of the Australian Open by Younes El Aynaoui.
World number two Andre Agassi is also scheudled to play Scottsdale.
Ja, Pete gyönyörű, de mintha kevésbé vigyorogna, mint tavaly:) Hiába, kevesebb átaludható éjszaka:) Vajon nosztalgiával gondol már a rideg, ám CSENDES hotelszobákra?:)
Pete Sampras withdrew from the Siebel Open on Tuesday, further delaying his return to tennis after a long absence.
Sampras, who has not competed since winning the U.S. Open in September, said he is not prepared to play a tournament. He and his wife, actress Bridgette Wilson, became first-time parents in November.
The Siebel Open begins Feb. 10 in San Jose, Calif. Australian Open winner Andre Agassi is entered, along with Michael Chang, who will begin his farewell tour in this tournament, and James Blake.
"Unfortunately, I will be postponing my return to the competitive arena and am withdrawing," Sampras said in a statement released by his agent. "Although I have made significant progress in recent weeks, I am not fully prepared to compete at the highest level.
"It is disappointing to be unable to participate in San Jose, where I have enjoyed many successes in the past."
Siebel Open tournament chairman Barry MacKay expressed his displeasure that Sampras backed out of the event.
"Obviously, a late withdrawal such as this is extremely disappointing and will make our entire tournament staff work even harder for a successful event," MacKay said. "The 2003 Siebel Open already has an extremely strong international field of players."
Gus Sampras, the tournament director of the ATP's Scottsdale, Arizona event, where Sampras is next scheduled to play, said that while the former world number one had not pulled out of the event yet, he was not quite mentally ready to begin playing matches again .
"He's still searching for reasons to come back," Gus Sampras, Sampras' brother, said. "At the end of the day, playing well at the French Open or trying to win Wimbledon again might not be enough to get him back.
"But I haven't got the feeling that he is ready to retire tomorrow."
Gus Sampras, who spoke to his younger brother on Monday, said that he wouldn't be surprised if Pete retired, but felt that his brother would get the urge to play again once the season progresses.
"He told (me) he's just not ready now," Gus said. "He's been working out a lot off court and doing some hitting, but he hasn't been playing enough sets and doesn't feel match tough.
"It's hard to get going at the beginning of the year, especially when you haven't played in so long. But in a month or so, I'm sure hoping he'll be ready to play here."
