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Wimbledon finalist loses her 31m fortune and blames ex-husband - 'I trusted him'

The four-time Grand Slam champion has been left in a desperate position after losing her 31m fortune and she points the finger of blame at her ex-husband

[Arantxa Sanchez Vicario alongside Alejandro Blanco, President of the Spanish Olympic Committee COE, during a tribute to the Spanish Olympic Team that competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games]

Former tennis world No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario has taken aim at her ex-husband(Image: (Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images))

Former tennis world No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario has blamed her ex-husband after losing her 31million fortune. The four-time Grand Slam singles champion was married to entrepreneur Josep Santacana between 2008 and 2019.

Two-time Wimbledon runner-up Vicario was one of the biggest tennis stars on the planet throughout the 1990s and amassed riches on the court. However, her world came crashing down when she and Santacana went to trial in 2023, accused of hiding assets to avoid paying back a debt owed to the Bank of Luxembourg.

The now 54-year-old was handed a suspended two-year prison sentence and ordered to pay back 5.5m worth of debt. And now, asked about losing her career earnings, an estimated 31m, Sanchez Vicario revealed to Spanish TV show Universo Callejo: Its true, thats the amount that appeared in the press.

[Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in action at Wimbledon back in 2000]

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was a Wimbledon finalist in 1995 and 1996(Image: (Stu Forster /Allsport))

I focused on playing tennis and never handled my own financial affairs because I didnt know how. I trusted my husband And the [31m] vanished. I was left to shoulder the entire burden.

On her ex-husband, Sanchez Vicario said: I trusted him because he was the father of my children. I fell blindly in love, and he really isnt the person I thought he was.

Asked about avoiding prison time, she added: 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.

Before she continued: It was a shock. I had to go to therapy because I couldnt believe it. It was like waking up from a dream and thinking, This cant be happening to me.'

[Arantxa Sanchez Vicario after winning the 1994 U.S. Tennis Open]

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario after winning the 1994 U.S. Tennis Open(Image: (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images))

Early in her career, Sanchez Vicario was charged with tax evasion when she claimed to be living in Andorra between 1989 and 1993 when she was actually residing in Barcelona.

Later charges from the Bank of Luxembourg relating to credit and property fraud emerged, as well as charges relating to disguising assets.

The Barcelona-born star hung up her racquet in 2002 and subsequently had a court named after her at the Madrid Masters tournament.

Sanchez Vicario still harbours an ambition to return to Spain and credits her kids as her driving motivation.

[Arantxa Sanchez Vicario during the trophy presentation at the 2018 French Open]

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario during the trophy presentation at the 2018 French Open(Image: (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images))

And back in 2012, she claimed in a high-profile autobiography that her family left her with nothing, having managed her finances during her career.

"My parents left me with nothing and now I am indebted to the [tax authorities] and I will not be quiet," she wrote. "In recent months I have lived through situations so difficult that there are still times when I think it is a nightmare.

"The truth is the relationship with my family is nonexistent. How is it possible that everything I obtained has disappeared, does not exist? I am the victim and the cheated one."

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