Arantxa Sánchez Vicario facts for kids

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Arantxa Sánchez Vicario

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario holding the Australian Open trophy
Full name	Aránzazu Isabel María Sánchez Vicario
Country (sports)	Spain
Residence	Barcelona, Spain
Born	(1971-12-18) 18 December 1971 (age 53) Barcelona, Spain
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro	1985
Retired	2002
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$16,942,640 30th in all-time rankings (female)
Int. Tennis HoF	2007 (member page)
Singles
Career record	764-296 (72.1%)
Career titles	29
Highest ranking	No. 1 (6 February 1995)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	F (1994, 1995)
French Open	W (1989, 1994, 1998)
Wimbledon	F (1995, 1996)
US Open	W (1994)
Other tournaments
Grand Slam Cup	QF (1998, 1999)
Tour Finals	F (1993)
Doubles
Career record	676–224 (75.11%)
Career titles	69
Highest ranking	No. 1 (19 October 1992)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1992, 1995, 1996)
French Open	F (1992, 1995)
Wimbledon	W (1995)
US Open	W (1993, 1994)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1992, 1995)
Mixed doubles
Career record	68–29 (70.1%)
Career titles	4
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	W (1993)
French Open	W (1990, 1992)
Wimbledon	3R (1990)
US Open	W (2000)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998)
Hopman Cup	W (1990, 2002)
Coaching career (2015–)
Caroline Wozniacki (2015)
Medal record Olympic Games Silver 1992 Barcelona Doubles Silver 1996 Atlanta Singles Bronze 1992 Barcelona Singles Bronze 1996 Atlanta Doubles

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario is a famous Spanish former professional tennis player. She was born on December 18, 1971. Arantxa was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles for 12 weeks. She was also the world No. 1 in women's doubles for 111 weeks.

Arantxa was known for her strong defense on the court. She won 29 singles titles and 69 doubles titles during her career. This includes 14 major titles, which are the biggest tournaments in tennis. She won four in singles, six in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles. She also won four Olympic medals and helped Spain win five Fed Cup titles. In 1994, she was named the ITF World Champion.

Her Amazing Tennis Career

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario started playing tennis when she was only four years old. She would go to the court with her older brothers, Emilio Sánchez and Javier Sánchez, who also became professional players. She would hit balls against the wall with her first racket.

When she was 17, Arantxa became the youngest player to win the women's singles title at the 1989 French Open. She beat the top-ranked player, Steffi Graf, in the final match. Another player, Monica Seles, later broke this record.

Arantxa was known for being very determined and never giving up on a point. A tennis commentator, Bud Collins, called her the "Barcelona Bumblebee." This nickname showed how she would chase every ball on the court.

Grand Slam and Team Wins

Arantxa won six Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. These included the US Open in 1993 and Wimbledon in 1995. She also won four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.

She was a key player for Spain's national team. She helped Spain win its first-ever Fed Cup title in 1991. They won the Fed Cup again in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1998. Arantxa holds the record for the most matches won by a player in Fed Cup history (72 wins). She also played in the most Fed Cup matches (58). She was also part of the Spanish teams that won the Hopman Cup in 1990 and 2002.

Retirement and Honors

Arantxa retired from professional tennis in November 2002. She had won 29 singles titles and 69 doubles titles. She briefly came out of retirement in 2004 to play doubles in a few tournaments, including the 2004 Summer Olympics. She is the only tennis player to have played in five Olympics.

Arantxa was one of Spain's most successful Olympic athletes, winning four medals: two silver and two bronze. Later, other Spanish athletes like David Cal and Saúl Craviotto won more medals.

In 2005, TENNIS magazine ranked her among the 40 greatest tennis players of her time. In 2007, she was honored by being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was the first Spanish woman to receive this honor.

In 2009, a tennis court at the Madrid Masters venue, called the Caja Mágica, was named "Court Arantxa Sánchez Vicario" in her honor.

Personal Life

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario has been married twice. She married sports writer Juan Vehils in 2000, and they later separated in 2001. She then married businessman Josep Santacana in 2008. They have a daughter, born in 2009, and a son, born in 2011. They divorced in 2019.

In 2012, Arantxa wrote a book about her life. She mentioned that she had some disagreements about her finances with her family.

Arantxa has an older sister, Marisa, who also played professional tennis for a short time. Her brothers, Javier and Emilio, were also professional tennis players.

Career Statistics

Grand Slam Performance

Singles

Doubles

Grand Slam Finals

Singles: 12 (4 titles, 8 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1989	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	7–6(8–6), 3–6, 7–5
Loss	1991	French Open	Clay	Monica Seles	3–6, 4–6
Loss	1992	US Open	Hard	Monica Seles	3–6, 3–6
Loss	1994	Australian Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	0–6, 2–6
Win	1994	French Open	Clay	Mary Pierce	6–4, 6–4
Win	1994	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	1–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–4
Loss	1995	Australian Open	Hard	Mary Pierce	3–6, 2–6
Loss	1995	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	5–7, 6–4, 0–6
Loss	1995	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	6–4, 1–6, 5–7
Loss	1996	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	3–6, 7–6(7–4), 8–10
Loss	1996	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	3–6, 5–7
Win	1998	French Open	Clay	Monica Seles	7–6(7–5), 0–6, 6–2

Doubles: 11 (6 titles, 5 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Helena Suková	Mary Joe Fernandez Zina Garrison	6–4, 7–6(7–3)
Loss	1992	French Open	Clay	Conchita Martínez	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	3–6, 2–6
Win	1993	US Open	Hard	Helena Suková	Amanda Coetzer Inés Gorrochategui	6–4, 6–2
Loss	1994	Wimbledon	Grass	Jana Novotná	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	4–6, 1–6
Win	1994	US Open	Hard	Jana Novotná	Katerina Maleeva Robin White	6–3, 6–3
Win	1995	Australian Open	Hard	Jana Novotná	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–4
Loss	1995	French Open	Clay	Jana Novotná	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	7–6(8–6), 4–6, 5–7
Win	1995	Wimbledon	Grass	Jana Novotná	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	5–7, 7–5, 6–4
Win	1996	Australian Open	Hard	Chanda Rubin	Lindsay Davenport Mary Joe Fernandez	7–5, 2–6, 6–4
Loss	1996	US Open	Hard	Jana Novotná	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–1, 1–6, 4–6
Loss	2002	Australian Open	Hard	Daniela Hantuchová	Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova	2–6, 7–6(7–4), 1–6

Mixed Doubles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1989	French Open	Clay	Horacio de la Peña	Manon Bollegraf Tom Nijssen	3–6, 7–6, 2–6
Win	1990	French Open	Clay	Jorge Lozano	Nicole Provis Danie Visser	7–6, 7–6
Loss	1991	US Open	Hard	Emilio Sánchez	Manon Bollegraf Tom Nijssen	2–6, 6–7
Loss	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Nicole Provis Mark Woodforde	3–6, 6–4, 9–11
Win	1992	French Open	Clay	Todd Woodbridge	Lori McNeil Bryan Shelton	6–2, 6–3
Win	1993	Australian Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Zina Garrison Rick Leach	7–5, 6–4
Loss	2000	Australian Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Rennae Stubbs Jared Palmer	5–7, 6–7
Win	2000	US Open	Hard	Jared Palmer	Anna Kournikova Max Mirnyi	6–4, 6–3

Summer Olympics

Singles: 2 medals (1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Bronze	1992	Barcelona	Clay	Tied	DNP
Silver	1996	Atlanta	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	6–7(8–10), 2–6

Note: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario lost in the semi-finals to Jennifer Capriati 3–6, 6–3, 1–6. In 1992, there was no bronze medal play-off match, both beaten semi-final players received bronze medals

Doubles: 2 medals (1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Silver	1992	Barcelona	Clay	Conchita Martínez	Gigi Fernández Mary Joe Fernandez	5–7, 6–2, 2–6
Bronze	1996	Atlanta	Hard	Conchita Martínez	Manon Bollegraf Brenda Schultz	6–3, 6–1

Year-End Championships Finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1993	New York City	Carpet	Steffi Graf	1–6, 4–6, 6–3, 1–6

Doubles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1990	New York City	Carpet	Mercedes Paz	Kathy Jordan Elizabeth Smylie	6–7(4–7), 4–6
Win	1992	New York City	Carpet	Helena Suková	Larisa Neiland Jana Novotná	7–6(7–4), 6–1
Loss	1994	New York City	Carpet	Jana Novotná	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	3–6, 7–6(7–4), 3–6
Win	1995	New York City	Carpet	Jana Novotná	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–2, 6–1
Loss	1996	New York City	Carpet	Jana Novotná	Lindsay Davenport Mary Joe Fernandez	3–6, 2–6
Loss	1999	New York City	Carpet	Larisa Neiland	Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova	4–6, 4–6

See also

In Spanish: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario para niños

• WTA Awards
• World number 1 ranked female tennis players