A number memorabilia and trophies of well known tennis player, Pete Sampras, was stolen from a public storage facility recently in West Los Angeles.
Thankfully, Sampras is still in possession of 13 of the 14 Grand Slam trophies that he won, but has lost a lot of the trophies and memorabilia from the 64 tour titles he won, two Olympic rings, two Davis Cups, and six trophies he got for finishing at the No. 1 spot during the year-end rankings from 1993 to 1998.
Sampras told the Los Angeles Times, “My first Australian Open trophy is gone, and so is everything else.”
The taking of his belongings happened approximately 3 weeks ago. Dozens of the boxes that he has stashed in two units at a storage facility were taken. All except the large furniture that he has stored has been stolen.
Sampras believed the facility was safe, saying “We’ve had some housing issues and we stored things while we were sorting that out… I was like, ‘What?’ I thought there were security cameras. I thought these things were locked up tight. I was shocked.”
It has been seven years since Sampras retired from the sport, and he claimed his last Grand Slam title in 2002. The player said it was most upsetting because he planned on showing his trophies to his kids.
Sampras said, “I’m not one to gloat about trophies, or show them off… I’ve never been like that. I just want them for my kids to see. They didn’t see me play, but I’d like them to see these things… Losing this stuff is like having the history of my tennis life taken away.”