From world number one to penniless: How tennis icon Arantxa Sanchez Vicario went broke
Arantxe Sanchez Vicario once had the world at her feet, she was a four-time Grand Slam champion and world number one. Now the tennis icon finds herself broke and struggling, all thanks to betrayal from the man she once loved.
Vicario has blamed her ex-husband for the loss of her £31m fortune. The four-time Grand Slam singles champion was married to businessman Josep Santacana from 2008 until their divorce in 2019.
Vicario and Santacana have two children together.
“I trusted him because he was the father of my children,” Vicario told Spanish TV show Universo Callejo, as quoted by The Sun.
“I fell blindly in love and he really isn’t who I thought he was.
Sanchez Vicario and Santacana went on trial in 2023 on charges of concealing assets to avoid paying a debt to a Luxembourg bank. The former tennis star was given a suspended two-year prison sentence and ordered to pay back £5.5 million.
Vicario said she never handled her own finances and trusted her husband. However, Santacana’s alleged betrayal now left her bearing the entire burden.
“It’s true, that’s the amount that appeared in the press.
“I concentrated on playing tennis and never took care of my own finances because I didn’t know how.”
“I trusted my husband and the (31 million) disappeared. I carried the whole burden.”
Vicario said she currently pays 50 percent of her income to the bank to avoid jail time.
“I didn’t go to jail because I pay 50 percent of my earnings to the bank.
“I comply when deep down I was a victim.
‘HE HAD TO GO TO THERAPY’
Vicario said she had to enter therapy to recover from the trauma of the ordeal.
“It was a shock. I had to go to therapy because I couldn’t believe it. It was like waking up from a dream and thinking, ‘This can’t be happening to me,'” Vicario said.
Sanchez Vicario announced herself on the biggest stage she won her first French Open title at 17 before adding two more crowns at Roland Garros. She also lifted the 1994 US Open trophy and was runner-up several times at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
The Spaniard climbed to the top of the WTA rankings in 1995 and represented Spain at five Olympic Games during her illustrious career.
After retiring from professional tennis in 2002, the Barcelona native was honored with a court bearing her name at the Madrid Masters. She later switched to coaching and in 2015 joined forces with former world number one Caroline Wozniacki.
– The end
Published on:
24 Jul 2026 08:19 IST