Another Sampras Is On the Rise : Tennis: Sister of 1990 U.S. Open champion starts making an impact on the tour. She has moved steadily up the rankings.

Although she won the Southern Section and NCAA championships, Stella Sampras did not consider a career in professional tennis until being urged to do so by her younger brother Pete, the 1990 U.S. Open champion.

“His success encouraged me to give it a go,” Sampras said. “Watching him do well inspired me.”

Now Stella is doing well in her own right. She is 308th on the Virginia Slims singles rankings after starting the year at No. 516. In doubles, the former Palos Verdes High and UCLA standout is 160th after being ranked 514th as late as Feb. 17.

Sampras, 23, is in England this week for the $150,000 Dow Classic women’s grass-court tournament in Birmingham. After winning two matches in the qualifying rounds to reach the main draw, Sampras defeated Ann de Vries of Belgium, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4, in a first-round match Tuesday before being eliminated by occasional doubles partner and former UCLA teammate Kimberly Po, a former Miraleste standout, 6-0, 3-6, 6-1, in a second-round match Wednesday.

“I like grass a lot,” Sampras said. “It suits my game. I have a pretty big serve and I like going up to the net and volleying.”

Sampras, 23, joined the pro tour in September after graduating from UCLA, where she won the NCAA doubles title as a freshman in 1988 and was a doubles finalist in 1991.

As a professional, Sampras won U.S. Tennis Assn. tournaments in Mission, Tex., in January and New Braunfels, Tex., in February. She also took the doubles title at a January USTA tournament in Austin, Tex. Her best tournament on the Virginia Slims circuit came in February’s event in Oklahoma, where she reached the doubles semifinals.