Pete Sampras has had most of his tournament trophies stolen. The American said the trophies were taken from a warehouse in Los Angeles, where they were being kept in storage.
“Losing this stuff is like having the history of my tennis life taken away,” the retired star told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
He said he was making the theft public in the hope that it would lead to the return of the items. “I know this is a long shot, but I would regret it if I didn’t at least try. Maybe somebody knows something. That’s all I can hope for,” Sampras said.
The paper said the thieves had made off with most of his trophies from his 64 tour wins, two Davis Cups victories, an Olympic ring and six trophies for his world number one rankings from 1993 to 1998.
However, Sampras said that only one of the 14 Grand Slam trophies he had won had been stolen – the first one he won at the Australian Open in 1994.
www.premiertrophies.co.uk – the trophy and engraving specialist