A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis
by: Pete Sampras, Peter Bodo
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Product Description:
Pete Sampras is arguably the greatest tennis player ever, a man whose hard-nosed work ethic led to an unprecedented number one world ranking for 286 weeks, and whose prodigious talent made possible a record-setting fourteen Grand Slam titles. While his more vocal rivals sometimes grabbed the headlines, Pete always preferred to let his racket do the talking.
Until now.
In A Champion’s Mind, the tennis great who so often exhibited visible discomfort with letting people “inside his head” finally opens up. An athletic prodigy, Pete resolved from his earliest playing days never to let anything get in the way of his love for the game. But while this single-minded determination led to tennis domination, success didn’t come without a price. The constant pressure of competing on the world’s biggest stage—in the unblinking eye of a media machine hungry for more than mere athletic greatness—took its toll.
Here for the first time Pete speaks freely about what it was like to possess what he calls “the Gift.” He writes about the personal trials he faced—including the death of a longtime coach and confidant—and the struggles he gutted his way through while being seemingly on top of the world. Among the book’s most riveting scenes are an early devastating loss to Stefan Edberg that led Pete to make a monastic commitment to delivering on his natural talent; a grueling, four-hour-plus match against Alex Corretja during which Pete became seriously ill; fierce on-court battles with rival and friend Andre Agassi; and the triumphant last match of Pete’s career at the finals of the 2002 U.S. Open.
In A Champion’s Mind, one of the most revered, successful, and intensely private players in the history of tennis offers an intimate look at the life of an elite athlete.
Pete Sampras is arguably the greatest tennis player ever, a man whose hard-nosed work ethic led to an unprecedented number one world ranking for 286 weeks, and whose prodigious talent made possible a record-setting fourteen Grand Slam titles. While his more vocal rivals sometimes grabbed the headlines, Pete always preferred to let his racket do the talking.
Until now.
In A Champion’s Mind, the tennis great who so often exhibited visible discomfort with letting people “inside his head” finally opens up. An athletic prodigy, Pete resolved from his earliest playing days never to let anything get in the way of his love for the game. But while this single-minded determination led to tennis domination, success didn’t come without a price. The constant pressure of competing on the world’s biggest stage—in the unblinking eye of a media machine hungry for more than mere athletic greatness—took its toll.
Here for the first time Pete speaks freely about what it was like to possess what he calls “the Gift.” He writes about the personal trials he faced—including the death of a longtime coach and confidant—and the struggles he gutted his way through while being seemingly on top of the world. Among the book’s most riveting scenes are an early devastating loss to Stefan Edberg that led Pete to make a monastic commitment to delivering on his natural talent; a grueling, four-hour-plus match against Alex Corretja during which Pete became seriously ill; fierce on-court battles with rival and friend Andre Agassi; and the triumphant last match of Pete’s career at the finals of the 2002 U.S. Open.
In A Champion’s Mind, one of the most revered, successful, and intensely private players in the history of tennis offers an intimate look at the life of an elite athlete.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- If you are truly into tennis, you will love it.
This book written with Peter Bodo is excellent.Bodo is a great tennis writer as he demonstrated with Inside tennis: A season on the pro tour and THE COURTS OF BABYLON: TALES OF GREED AND GLORY IN A HARSH NEW WORLD OF PROFESSI.Sampras is so reclusive. But, this book is like an insider's 6 hour interview with him.
Sampras tennis life is full of surprises.In his mid teens, PeteFischer, a successful doctor and early coach of Sampras, convinces him to completely change his game. ... Read More
Rating: - A highly enjoyable read
I finished this book in two nights and still wanted more. This is the best tennis player's biography I've ever read, even better than McEnroe's "Serious".It is true that there is not much Pete can tell you about his personality cause, as he said himself, he is a boring tennis kid.But his opinions of other major players in his era are very very interesting.
Rating: 
- He's a tennis player, not a writer
Sports is an amazing human invention. Once you are a star, you can do nothing wrong. Your fans are always behind you. For such a poorly written book, how come it's rated 4.5 stars? There is no depth in this book. Not only that, the English in this book would make even a foreigner like me laugh. I have nothing against Pete. He is a great player, if not the greatest. But he is not a writer, and shouldn't even bother with this. He already had enough money. And that co-author? like McEnroe said: "You cannot ... Read More
Rating: 
- No Surprise - The book is much as Pete was...
If you are a tennis fan, you're gonna enjoy reading this book as it describes an interesting period in the history of the game. It will remind you the opposition that existed at the time, from the perspective of Pete Sampras.
But you are also going to understand pretty fast that the book's content is much like Pete Sampras's game: it all happens frustratingly simply... There is very little depth in the analysis of the different periods of Sampras ascension to the top, of his matches and opponents, ... Read More
Rating: 
- About Pete on court but don't look for a look inside the man off
I love Pete Bodo (co-author), and I read his columns on tennis.com and espn whenever possible!!!I've thoroughly enjoyed some of Bodo's other books which give insightful views inside the tour and the minds and inner workings of the players.I would have liked a glimpse deeper inside the soul of Pete Sampras, still, the match descriptions make this book another Bodo book worth getting.
- If you are truly into tennis, you will love it.This book written with Peter Bodo is excellent.Bodo is a great tennis writer as he demonstrated with Inside tennis: A season on the pro tour and THE COURTS OF BABYLON: TALES OF GREED AND GLORY IN A HARSH NEW WORLD OF PROFESSI.Sampras is so reclusive. But, this book is like an insider's 6 hour interview with him.
Sampras tennis life is full of surprises.In his mid teens, PeteFischer, a successful doctor and early coach of Sampras, convinces him to completely change his game. ... Read More
- A highly enjoyable readI finished this book in two nights and still wanted more. This is the best tennis player's biography I've ever read, even better than McEnroe's "Serious".It is true that there is not much Pete can tell you about his personality cause, as he said himself, he is a boring tennis kid.But his opinions of other major players in his era are very very interesting.
- He's a tennis player, not a writerSports is an amazing human invention. Once you are a star, you can do nothing wrong. Your fans are always behind you. For such a poorly written book, how come it's rated 4.5 stars? There is no depth in this book. Not only that, the English in this book would make even a foreigner like me laugh. I have nothing against Pete. He is a great player, if not the greatest. But he is not a writer, and shouldn't even bother with this. He already had enough money. And that co-author? like McEnroe said: "You cannot ... Read More
- No Surprise - The book is much as Pete was...If you are a tennis fan, you're gonna enjoy reading this book as it describes an interesting period in the history of the game. It will remind you the opposition that existed at the time, from the perspective of Pete Sampras.
But you are also going to understand pretty fast that the book's content is much like Pete Sampras's game: it all happens frustratingly simply... There is very little depth in the analysis of the different periods of Sampras ascension to the top, of his matches and opponents, ... Read More
- About Pete on court but don't look for a look inside the man offI love Pete Bodo (co-author), and I read his columns on tennis.com and espn whenever possible!!!I've thoroughly enjoyed some of Bodo's other books which give insightful views inside the tour and the minds and inner workings of the players.I would have liked a glimpse deeper inside the soul of Pete Sampras, still, the match descriptions make this book another Bodo book worth getting.
