Former tennis star Pete Sampras
His wife Bridgette is seriously ill with cancer
Bridgette Wilson-Sampras and husband Pete Sampras.
© Imago/PicturePerfect
Pete Sampras has revealed that his wife Bridgette Wilson-Sampras has been battling serious cancer for a year.
Former tennis star Pete Sampras (52) keeps his private life largely out of the public eye. All the more surprising is that the 14-time Grand Slam winner has now come up with an emotional message via the official X account the men’s tennis organization ATP addressed its fans. In it, the 52-year-old reveals that his wife Bridgette Wilson-Sampras (50) is seriously ill with cancer and has been fighting for her life for around a year.
“As most people know by now, I am a fairly quiet and private person,” begins Sampras’ statement, which was published alongside a picture with his wife. “However, the past year has been an exceptionally difficult time for my family and I have decided to share what happened. Last December my wife Bridgette was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Since then she has had major surgery, battled through chemotherapy and… continues to do targeted maintenance therapies.”
Inseparable since 1999
It’s incredibly difficult to watch “someone you love go through such a challenge.” He is all the more proud of our children: “Seeing how our boys progress and support Bridgette, me and each other so strongly was incredible.” He also feels the deepest respect for his wife, who continues to find the strength to be a “great mother and wife” despite her serious illness. He ends the statement with a request to pray for his wife as she continues on the “path of healing.”
The former American tennis player and the actress Bridgette Wilson (“Wedding Planner – in love, engaged, planned”) met and fell in love in 1999. Just a year later, their wedding bells rang. Their first son Christian Charles was born at the end of 2001, followed in 2005 by son Ryan Nikolaos.