Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former World No. 1 professional
tennis player.
She won four Grand Slam singles titles, six Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and four
Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
Career Arantxa Sánchez Vicario started playing tennis
at the age of four, when she followed her older brothers Emilio Sánchez and Javier
Sánchez to the court and hit balls against the wall with her first racquet.
As a 17-year-old, she became the youngest winner of the women's singles title at the
1989 French Open, defeating World No. 1 Steffi Graf in the final.
Sánchez Vicario quickly developed a reputation on the tour for her tenacity and refusal to
concede a point.
Commentator Bud Collins described her as "unceasing in determined pursuit of tennis balls, none
seeming too distant to be retrieved in some manner and returned again and again to demoralize
opponents" and nicknamed her the "Barcelona Bumblebee".
She won six women's doubles Grand Slam titles, including the US Open in 1993 and Wimbledon
in 1995.
She also won four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
In 1991, she helped Spain win its first-ever Fed Cup title, and helped Spain win the Fed
Cup in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1998.
Sanchez Vicario holds the records for the most matches won by a player in Fed Cup competition
and for most ties played.
She was ITF world champion in 1994 in singles.
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario was also a member of the Spanish teams that won the Hopman Cup
in 1990 and 2002.
Over the course of her career, Arantxa won 29 singles titles and 69 doubles titles before
retiring in November 2002.
She came out of retirement in 2004 to play doubles in a few select tournaments as well
as the 2004 Summer Olympics, where she became the only tennis player to play in five Olympics
in the Games history.
Sanchez Vicario is the most decorated Olympian in Spanish history with four medals – two
silver and two bronze.
In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put her in 27th place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the
TENNIS era and in 2007, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
She was only the third Spanish player to be inducted.
In 2009, Arantxa was present at the opening ceremony of Madrid's Caja Mágica, the new
venue for the Madrid Masters.
The second show court is named Court Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in her honour.
Personal life She has been married twice: her first marriage
to the sportswriter Juan Vehils ended in 2001.
She married the businessman Josep Santacana in September 2008.
Their first baby, a girl also named Arantxa, was born on 27 February 2009.
Sánchez Vicario gave birth to their second child, a boy named Leo, on 28 October 2011.
In 2012 it was reported that, despite having earned $60 million over the course of her
career, Arantxa's parents had "lost" all of her money, and that she was actually in debt
to Spanish tax authorities.
Major finals Grand Slam finals
Singles: 12 Women's doubles: 11
Mixed doubles: 8 Olympics
Singles: 2 medals Arantxa Sánchez Vicario lost in the semi-finals
to Jennifer Capriati 6–3, 3–6, 6–1.
In 1992, there was no bronze medal play-off match, both beaten semi-final players received
bronze medals Women's doubles: 2 medals
Year-End Championships finals Singles: 1
Doubles: 6 WTA Career Finals
Singles: 77 Doubles: 111
Grand Slam performance timelines Singles
Doubles NH = tournament not held.
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam tournaments won to the number of those tournaments
played.
WTA Tour career earnings * As of 17 January 2010.
Record against other top players Arantxa Sánchez Vicario's win-loss record
against certain players who have been ranked World No. 10 or higher is as follows:
Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.
See also
WTA Awards World number one women tennis players
Notes
External links Arantxa Sánchez Vicario at the Women's Tennis
Association Arantxa Sánchez Vicario at the Fed Cup
(Spanish) sportec.com: Tax evasion issue of Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario's induction speech to the Hall of Fame
Golden Heart Award 1997 granted by Spanish Heart Foundation
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario at the International Tennis Hall of Fame