24 years ago, tennis said goodbye to one of Spain’s greatest champions. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario built a remarkable career, capturing 4 Grand Slam singles titles, 6 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, 4 mixed doubles majors, and climbing to world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, along with two Olympic medals, one silver and one bronze. Yet after 17 long years, she did what many athletes do and turned toward personal life. In her words, it was time “for me to think about myself.” She went on to marry Josep Santacana, whom she believed was her “love,” but the ending never unfolded like a fairytale.

“I trusted him because he was the father of my children. I fell blindly in love, but he really isn’t the person I thought he was,” confessed the four-time Grand Slam champion during a chat on the Spanish TV show, ‘Universo Callejo.’ “It’s true. I focused on playing tennis and never handled my own financial affairs because I didn’t know how.”

Vicario and Josep Santacana were married from 2008 to 2019, and during that time he managed the roughly $41 million she earned on court during her career. Even so, Sanchez has said the family’s finances were handled by her ex-husband and that he was responsible for draining much of her fortune.

Her legal troubles, however, began long before that marriage. In 1993, Spanish authorities accused her of tax evasion after she claimed to live in Andorra even though she was based in Barcelona. The case stretched on for years and ended in 2009, when she was ordered to pay a 3.5 million euro penalty after being convicted of tax fraud. The matter did not end there. In 2015, the Banque de Luxembourg imposed another fine, this time amounting to nearly $5.2 million. She was also ordered in 2009 by the Supreme Court to pay a $5.9 million fine for tax fraud, covering the period between 1989-93, when the court said she was resident in Spain rather than Andorra as she had claimed.

Then, in 2023, Sanchez Vicario reportedly struck a deal with prosecutors and agreed to admit to the allegations in exchange for a reduced sentence. By 2024, the former couple had been found guilty for allegedly hiding assets to dodge major debts owed to the Banque de Luxembourg.

Sanchez avoided jail time, while Santacana received a sentence of three years and three months in prison. The former World No.1 was first given a two-year sentence, but the court waived it because she was a first-time offender and had agreed to repay her debts to the bank.

She was also ordered to pay a fine of 6.6 million euros ($7.1 million). Both had denied the charges before the ruling, with The Associated Press reporting that she said he handled her money and that she had no knowledge of any illegal wrongdoing.

The court said Sánchez-Vicario did not have the financial knowledge to tamper with the assets, but also stated that “obviously she had full knowledge of what was done with her assets and was benefiting from them, with the full awareness of the debt she had with Banque de Luxembourg.” Sánchez-Vicario says she is a “victim” and insists she is only avoiding jail by giving half her earnings “to the bank.” She made similar claims about Santacana at trial.

“I just expect the truth to be told and this to be over,” Santacana told reporters during the case.

At that time, she confessed, “I did not go to jail because I am paying 50% of my earnings to the bank. I am complying when deep down I was a victim. 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.”

Now, three years later, the former World No. 1 is dealing with yet another setback as her financial troubles have deepened.

Although her life away from tennis has been far from straightforward, Sanchez Vicario’s legacy on the court speaks for itself. She was among the finest players of her era, thriving in both singles and doubles.

Sanchez Vicario asserted her dominance in both Singles and Doubles

Vicario was one of six women who had the honor of achieving the unique feat of being No.1 in both singles and doubles in their careers. The Spaniard had the unique distinction of having both the No.1 rankings at the same time in 1995.

In singles, she was the force that was a constant challenge for the duo of Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. She faced Graf in seven Major finals, winning two titles, including her maiden Major final at the 1989 French Open.

Against Seles, she lost the first two Grand Slam finals, but it was the Spaniard who won the last Slam final between the two at the 1998 French Open. Vicario’s all-court game and baseline power made her a threat on all surfaces, as she reached the final of all Majors, winning the US Open title in 1994 and three French Open titles in 1989, 1994, and 1998.

Vicario was dominant on the doubles surface as well, with her partnership with Jana Novotna being a success at the Majors, as the duo won three of the six Grand Slam finals they reached together. The Spaniard also won two Majors with Helena Sukova, winning her final doubles Major at the 1996 Australian Open with Chanda Rubin.

The Spaniard also won four Olympic medals for her country, two apiece in singles and doubles, which only makes the decision of putting her in the Hall of Fame in 2007 a no-brainer.