Four-time Grand Slam winner blames ex-husband for losing £31m fortune

Four-time tennis Grand Slam winner Arantxa Sanchez Vicario has placed blame on her ex-husband for losing her fortune.

The former World No.1, who was married to entrepreneur Josep Santacana for 11 years, lost her entire £31million earnings.

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Sanchez Vicario and Santacana had a son and daughter together during their marriage between 2008 and 2019.

The pair went to trial in 2023 after being accused of hiding assets to avoid paying back a debt owed to the bank.

For that, Sanchez Vicario was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence and was told to pay £5.5m worth of debt.

She is still currently paying that off while working as a tennis instructor in the USA, handing over 50 per cent of her wages.

However, the 54-year-old has blamed her ex-husband, Santacana, for the loss of her £31m tennis fortune.

What has Sanchez Vicario said?

Sanchez Vicario said recently on Spanish TV show Universo Callejo: “I trusted him because he was the father of my children.

“I fell blindly in love… he really isn’t the person I thought he was.”

When asked about losing her £31m earnings, she added: “It’s true, that’s the amount that appeared in the press.

“I focused on playing tennis and never handled my own financial affairs because I didn’t know how.

“I trusted my husband… and the money vanished. I was left to shoulder the entire burden.”

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On avoiding prison in 2023, she continued: “I did not go to jail because I am paying 50 per cent of my earnings to the bank.

“I am complying when deep down I was a victim.

“It was a shock [to go to trial]. 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.’”

Sanchez Vicario’s successful career

Sanchez Vicario became a tennis Grand Slam winner aged 17, winning the French Open for the first time in 1989.

She went on to win two more titles at Roland Garros in her career.

On top of that, the Spaniard also won the US Open in 1994.

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At Wimbledon and the Australian Open, Sanchez Vicario reached the final multiple times but didn’t win either.

She represented Spain at the Olympic Games five times too, reaching World No.1 in 1995 and going on to retire in 2002.

After her career, she coached former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.