Who is better, Tilden or Sampras?
Bill Tilden leads with a GOAT score of 91.8 against 91.0 for Pete Sampras — a gap of 0.8 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Tilden vs Sampras
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Bill Tilden above Pete Sampras: 91.8 vs 91.0. Bill Tilden leads on Peak, Dominance, Honours. Pete Sampras leads on Longevity, Statistics.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
TildenWinner
91.8Tilden wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours
Sampras
91.0Sampras wins: Longevity, Statistics
Candidates
Locked to TennisShareable URL · /compare/bill-tilden-vs-sampras
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 Bill Tilden
91.8
Tilden leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Bill Tilden
2. Pete Sampras
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Form index per season1. 🇺🇸 Bill Tilden5 seasons played · career day 1,826258 titles
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇺🇸 Pete Sampras5 seasons played · career day 2,55626 titles
-89.9% vs Tilden at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Tilden | 0 | 0 | 40 | 86 | 195 | 569 |
| 🇺🇸 Sampras | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 39 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | TildenRetired | SamprasRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Major singles titles | 10 | — |
| US Championships titles | 7 | — |
| Wimbledon titles | 3 | 7 |
| Davis Cup titles | 7 | — |
| Years ranked world number one | 6 | — |
| Grand Slam titles | — | 14 |
| Career titles | — | 64 |
| Weeks at No. 1 | — | 286 |
| Year-end No. 1 | — | 6 |
| Davis Cups | — | 2 |
| Dominance w25% | 94 | 92 |
| Peak w20% | 96 | 93 |
| Longevity w20% | 84 | 86 |
| Honours w20% | 94 | 92 |
| Statistics w15% | 90 | 92 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Tilden91.8
Sampras91.0
FAQ
Where does Sampras beat Tilden?
Sampras scores higher on statistics, longevity. Tilden leads on peak, dominance, honours.
How is the Tilden vs Sampras score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Tilden: 91.8, Sampras: 91.0.
What do you think?
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