‘She Has a Crush on Me’- American ATP Legend Pete Sampras Still Mortified by His Controversial Statement About the Late Princess Diana at the 1993 Wimbledon

There are always moments in our lives when we are fuelled by a stuporous high of disbelief and happiness, and we might lose control of our actions in the moment. It happens more often than we think, and with more people than we can fathom. So it happened with veteran ATP legend, Pete Sampras in Wimbledon 1993. And to make it worse, it involved Her Royal Highness, Princess Diana!

The deceased Princess’ love for tennis was no secret. In fact, she was seen sporting a beautiful fan spirit in boxes almost every Wimbledon. In Wimbledon 1993, during the Sampras versus Courier match, Princess Diana happened to be sitting in Sampras’ side of the court and when asked about it in the post-match interview, Sampras made a comment that he would mentally kick himself for later.

Pete Sampras made a mistake, and he knows it!

In his book “A Champion’s Mind”, Pete Sampras recounts this experience with a jittery feeling. At his post-match presser, he was told that Princess Diana was sitting in the Royal Box, “on the edge of her seat, clapping through the last two games like crazy” for Sampras. While it is understood that this revelation could be a little overwhelming for anyone, Sampras made a really unexpected comment.

With a dry chuckle, he said, “Maybe she’s got a crush on me.” This was clearly a sign of emotional naivete and New York Times pens his reaction in the aftermath of the comment aptly as they write, “His eyes opened wide. He could not believe he said that.”

Talking about this incident in his autobiography, Sampras writes, “My win at Wimbledon in 1993 was really the beginning of my career as a dominant champion, although an incident in the press conference underscored how green I still was, emotionally.”

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He continues, “The late Princess Diana had watched me beat Jim, and she had clearly been in my corner as a fan. When the British tabloids pointed this out and asked for my reaction, I flippantly replied, ‘Maybe she has a crush on me.'”

He honestly tries to describe the reaction of the audience who must have been in utter shock at the comment, “Some of the people there laughed —somewhat nervously. The incident is better forgotten.”

At the time of this incident, the ATP icon was in a relationship with DeLaina Mulcahy who was a student of law at Stetson. She was at the match too, sitting two sections away from the Royal Box.

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These incidents make tennis all the more interesting to watch and appealing to fans around the world who relate to these humane moments of their icons on-screen.