How Arantxa Sanchez Vicario's $41 million tennis fortune 'vanished

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was once the World No.1 tennis player. Now, Sanchez Vicario is penniless after her ex-husband drained her $41 million fortune, she claims.

“I focused on playing tennis and never handled my own financial affairs because I didn’t know how. I trusted my husband… And the [£31m] vanished. I was left to shoulder the entire burden,” Sanchez Vicario recently said on Spanish TV show “Universo Callejo,” according to The Sun.

Sanchez Vicario and her ex-husband, Josep Santacana, were found guilty of fraud in January 2024. The couple allegedly hid assets in an attempt to avoid paying large debts to the Banque de Luxembourg.

Sanchez Vicario claims, though, that she is a “victim” and still is only avoiding jail by giving half her earnings “to the bank.”

She made similar claims about Santacana at the trial.

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

She was initially sentenced to a two-year sentence but it was waived because she promised to pay back the debts.

However, it was not the first time she dealt with financial issues.

Sanchez Vicario was ordered in 2009 by the Supreme Court to pay a $5.9 million fine for tax fraud.

The ruling covered the period between 1989-93 when, according to the court ruling, Sanchez Vicario was resident in Spain rather than Andorra as she had claimed.

The four-time Grand Slam singles winner avoided jail time and is currently paying debts back to the bank. Santacana was sentenced to three years and three months in prison.

The 54-year-old said she had no knowledge of wrongdoing as her ex-husband was responsible for handling the money. The two divorced in 2019.

Sanchez Vicario, who retired from tennis in 2002, was married to the entrepreneur from 2008-19. Sanchez Vicario and Santacana share a son and daughter.

The Barcelona-born tennis star was one of the top players in the sports in the 90s and rose to No. 1 in the world after winning the French Open and U.S. Open in 1994.

She won two other French Open titles in 1989 and 1998, and claimed her first title at just 17 years old.

Sanchez Vicario also won silver and bronze medals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in both the women’s singles and doubles. She was awarded the same accolades at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

In total, the Spaniard represented her country at five Olympics Games.

— With Reuters

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