Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Making a name for herself
By Andrew Finley
Stella Sampras webster has escaped brother's shadow to find place in tennis world
On Stella Sampras Webster's resume is an impressive list of accolades. She was the best player in her division as a junior, a four-time All-American in college, and is currently the head coach of an elite women's tennis program at UCLA.
Yet the first thing that jumps out at people is her last name.
As the older sister of 14-time grand slam champion Pete Sampras, she has heard the questions asked and the similarities drawn.
"What's your brother up to?" reporters would ask when she was on the professional tour.
"You look so much alike," they'd comment.
At times, Sampras Webster struggled with the spotlight she lost in juniors and the shadow she stepped into as a professional. During her time in Westwood, she watched from afar as her brother rose to the top of the tennis world. Yet never before has she felt more comfortable and proud of her own accomplishments. And this pride is the result of the legacy she has established on her own.
"When I'm at UCLA, I feel like I'm my own person, just because I've gone through this. I've earned a lot from being on the team, being an assistant coach and now head coach."
"It's my own place. Pete was never here. He didn't help me get this job. This is my home. It's what I've earned, and I feel really proud of that."
Battles on the court
With her Bruins gearing up for another NCAA Tournament run and her brother in retirement, Sampras Webster now has the tennis spotlight in the family all to herself. Yet growing up in Southern California as a junior player, the competition between her and Pete was intense.
"We definitely had our battles when we played each other," Sampras Webster said. "I did not want to lose to him, and he did not want to lose to me. There were times when our parents would have to watch and make sure we weren't cheating. I mean, make sure he wasn't cheating."
Although the siblings started playing tennis at the same time, when Sampras Webster was eight and Pete was six, the matches would usually go the older sister's way. She thinks it was eight years before Pete finally beat her, though she noted that he probably thinks it happened earlier. Although the bitterness of defeat never carried over into the home, family members still sensed the sibling rivalry.
"They'd get into heated matches, where each thought they got robbed and cheated," said Gus, the oldest of four Sampras siblings. "It was very competitive."
Competing against each other in practice allowed each to excel in their junior tournaments. Yet while Sampras Webster was capturing trophies in her own age division, Pete was picking up quality wins in higher age groups. Sampras Webster may have boasted a more impressive record, but Pete was attracting more outside attention because of his raw talent and endless potential.
"Pete was a natural talent and Stella was a hard worker," Gus said. "Stella's drive and dedication was going to take her so far, but Pete had the natural talent."
The hype Pete received stirred some feelings of jealousy and resentment in Sampras Webster, largely because she saw Pete more as her little brother rather than a tennis phenom.
"When you're younger, you just want that attention from parents or people, and when you have a sibling that's getting a lot of it, you start wanting it," Sampras Webster said. "It's a natural feeling."
Along with the attention, the match results between the siblings also began to shift Pete's way. Everyone in the family, including Sampras Webster, understood it was only a matter of time before Pete began regularly winning the contests. By the time she was 17, losses were no longer blows to Sampras Webster's ego, and instead became a part of reality.
"I wanted to prove that I was just as good and a great player," Sampras Webster said. "I was. I did really well, but I couldn't compare myself to him."
Taking a separate path
For Sampras Webster, the feelings of jealousy subsided as Pete moved to the professional ranks and she enrolled at UCLA in 1987. College wasn't a disappointing alternative to the pros; it was her ultimate goal.
"When I first came, I didn't want to go on the tour," said Sampras Webster, who is expecting twins in August. "I just wanted to get my education, enjoy college and do well with my tennis. I wanted to be a teacher, get married, have kids, and all that."
While her brother was driven to become the best player in the world, Sampras Webster was motivated by what she could accomplish in school. Earning a scholarship and having a social life were always more important to her than traveling every week and becoming a top-20 player in the world. By taking a different path than her brother, Sampras Webster no longer felt the bitterness she had a few years earlier.
"When I went to college, I kind of had my own identity then," Sampras Webster said. "It wasn't so much about Pete or anyone else. I was able to be on my own, and that was my goal."
She forged her own identity on the court very quickly at UCLA. As a freshman, she captured the NCAA doubles championship. By the time Pete won his first major, the 1990 U.S. Open, Sampras Webster had already led her team to the Final Four three times and was a three-time All-American.
"Instead of sharing the spotlight, she was able to make a name for herself at UCLA and on the team," Gus said.
Having dedicated so much of her life to tennis and having enjoyed tremendous levels of success, Sampras Webster decided to follow in her brother's footsteps and give the professional ranks a try after all. But for the most part, she was following as a shadow figure.
"Once they found out I was his sister, papers would want to interview me in every town I went to," Sampras Webster said. "They'd ask questions about him, not about me."
She'd get abnormally large crowds for a player who wasn't ranked in the top 100, and she realized the reason fans came was because of who she was, not what she did.
"They all knew me as Pete's sister," Sampras Webster said. "It was a lot of attention, and I'm not one to want and seek attention. It's not the most comfortable thing for me."
"I'd rather them come out and watch me for my tennis."
During Sampras Webster's one year on the tour, her brother captured more than half a dozen singles titles. Competing in the same realm as Pete, she felt the weighty expectations and lost what she had gained during college.
"On tour, I did feel the pressure," Sampras Webster said. "I didn't have much of an identity."
Building her own legacy
Sampras Webster insists it was the demanding lifestyle, not the pressure, that drove her away from the tour. When then-UCLA head coach Bill Zaima called to offer her a position on his coaching staff in 1993, it made leaving that much more of an appealing option.
Returning to UCLA enabled Sampras Webster to move back into the comfort zone she had fallen out of while on the tour. In 1996, Zaima retired and handed the reins to his former player. For the past nine seasons, Sampras Webster has headed the program that made her feel so unique in the first place.
"I have done a lot, and the people I work with know what I've done and what I've earned," she said. "They don't know me as Pete's sister. They know me as Stella, the head coach at UCLA."
Though her brother's status wasn't involved in any hiring decisions, it has been a nice boon for Sampras Webster since taking over. In her first year at the helm, Pete endowed a scholarship and helped raise an additional $100,000 for the program.
Additionally, Sampras Webster acknowledges that her last name, no longer a source of pressure or jealousy, may instead be a recruiting tool. Players on the team have said that when they were considering schools, UCLA was a particularly intriguing option because of the Sampras affiliation.
"If people are interested, it's a nice advantage because they already know something about me," Sampras Webster said. "At other schools, they might not know the background of the coach, but they know what Pete's like on the court and hopefully what kind of person he is. It's a reflection of our family."
"They know that we're a close family and have character. It could make a difference."
The closeness has been particularly apparent since Pete retired in 2002. Over the past few years, he has been a familiar face at many of the Bruins' home matches, and last season, he attended the team's banquet.
"At first, the freshmen will be a little starstruck," Sampras Webster said. "The rest have seen him around so much that it's not such a big event. He's talked to some of my players. They see that he's just another normal guy with unbelievable talent."
Pete's talent is now a source of pride for Sampras Webster. Her heated battles with him are a childhood memory. Her stint on the professional tour is a footnote and her career at UCLA is at the forefront. Because this is where she's never been in the shadow.
| YEAR |
RECORD |
NCAA FINISH |
| 1997 |
16-6 |
Quarterfinals |
| 1998 |
17-11 |
Round of 16 |
| 1999 |
18-8 |
Round of 32 |
| 2000 |
17-9 |
Quarterfinals |
| 2001 |
9-19 |
Round of 16 |
| 2002 |
19-5 |
Quarterfinals |
| 2003 |
16-11 |
Quarterfinals |
| 2004 |
21-8 | Finals |