Arantxa Sanchez Vicario turns 50
Steffi Graf felt the tireless fighting spirit of Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the final of the French Open in 1989.
by SID
last edit:
Dec 18, 2021, 11:39 am
The German number one had reached the so far unique Golden Slam last year - won all major tournaments and added the gold medal in Seoul as the icing on the cake. But on this sunny June day in Paris, she bit her teeth against the 17-year-old Spaniard.
The baseline player from Barcelona, who turns 50 this Saturday, made the coup perfect with a hard-fought three-set win. This was followed by two more titles in Roland Garros, the 1994 triumph at the US Open, six double trophies at Grand Slams and four mixed titles. Sanchez Vicario was extremely versatile and climbed to the top of the world rankings in singles and doubles.
Financial crisis at Arantxa Sanchez
The Spaniard earned accordingly well in the course of her career, but apparently there is not much left of all the money. For several years now, Sanchez Vicario, who lives in Miami, has been making the headlines again and again. Millions of claims against the Graf rival came to the public, there was talk of suspicion of fraud.
Sanchez Vicario described himself as insolvent in 2018 when Bank Luxembourg filed a criminal complaint in Barcelona. Her brother and ex-professional Emilio Sanchez embezzled her million dollar fortune. Her creditor bank, on the other hand, claimed that the multiple Grand Slam winner and her now ex-husband had hidden their assets through various shell companies in order not to have to pay off the debts.
In the meantime, according to the El Pais newspaper, Sanchez Vicario is said to have confessed that she was a "victim" of her ex-husband Josep Santacana. The public image of the former Spanish icon has meanwhile suffered greatly.