The Spaniard tennisplayer Arantxa Sánchez Vicario has been awarded the Príncipe de Asturias Award of Sports 1998 by a jury presided by the maximum responsible of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario was in the final votes toguether with the American Basketplayer Michael Jordan, the pilot Carlos Sainz, the athlete Fermín Cacho and the golfer Jack Niklaus.

Arantxa: “ I’ve had the most wonderful awakening of my life”

An example of constancy and sacrifice.

3/9/98
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario was born in Barcelona, on 18 December 1971. Her height 1.69 m and her weight 56 kilos. She’s right-handed and her best stroke: two-handed backhand.
She’s the sister of the tennisplayers Emilio and Javier, and started playing tennis with her brother at 4 years old at the Pedralbes Club, in Barcelona. When this club disappeared, she went to the Barcelona Tennis Club.

Arantxa is the youngest champion that the Spanish tennis has ever had, because she was champion in 1985, in Granada, after training for some months in the German School in Marbella. A year before, she had won the Manuel Alonso tournament for ‘alevines’, and won it again in 1985. In 1986 she played a foreign tournament for the first time and played the Orange Bowl Cup, in Miami, USA, for ‘alevines’ and ‘juveniles’ (alevines and juveniles are different categories in sports (very young players). (T.N: Sorry, but I don’t know how to say that in English)

Since then, she usually plays in international tournaments and in 1987 she reached the quarter finals in Roland Garros. In December 1997, in Seville, she recovered the Spanish Championship, because she hadn’t played the previous edition, against the ex-champion Mª José Llorca. On 28 May 1988, in Roland Garros, she defeated the American Chris Evert in the third round. She wins the first tournament of her career in the Virginia Slims circuit, on 18 July 1988, after winning the Belgian Open, so she becomes the first Spanish player (woman) who wins an international trophy.

On 10 June 1989 she won Roland Garros against the German Steffi Graf. In July that year she played again against Steffi Graf in Wimbledon, and was defeated. On 20 October there was a photographic exposition dedicated to her at the Museum and Centre of Studies of Sport Melchor Colet.

In January 1990 she was awarded the ABC of Gold. That month she changed her trainer because of economical reasons. On 26 March she was awarded as the Spanish personality with the biggest impact in the International Press, by the International Press Club. In May 1990 the tennisplayer demanded the residence in Andorre in order to pay less taxes. Eduardo Osta was the new Arantxa’s trainer, who won the Virginia Slims tournament of Newport (USA), so she became 6th-ranked.

Among other victories, the one versus Jennifer Capriati in February 1991 in the Dallas Exhibition Tournament, was important. After playing lots of matches against her, the Spaniard defeated the American for the first time in her professional career. In December that year, she was the ‘pregonera’ (proclaimer?) at Christmas for the Madrid Cityhall, because the Mayor José Mª Álvarez del Manzano asked her for.

Together with Conchita Martínez, she won the doubles title in the XXV International Spanish Championships, on 26 April 1992. More later, on 6 June, she won again the mixed-double in Roland Garros, with the Australian Todd Woodbridge. But on 26 June, she couldn’t defeat the French Julie Halard in the second round in Wimbledon.

In the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games of Barcelona she wore the Olympic uniform with the other Spanish sportpeople, and she showed that she was one of the best players by winning the bronze medal in singles (on 5 August after losing to Jennifer Capriati) and silver medal in doubles with Conchita Martínez (Mary Joe Fernández and Gigi Fernández defeated them in the final on 8 August: 7-5, 2-6, 6-2)

On 23 August she won the Montreal Tournament defeating Monica Seles 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 after 10 consecutive defeats. In 1992 she also won in Lipton in singles and doubles (with Neiland)

In Roland Garros she won the double with Helena Sukova, defeating Gigi Fernández and Zina Garrison 6-4, 7-3. She won the doubles with Sukova in the Australian Open (Virginia Slims). In Sydney, she won again with the same partner and also in Pan Pacific. In Barcelona she played with Conchita Martínez and won in doubles. She played the US Open final that year and also in Sydney, Barcelona, Hamburg, Germany, Virginia Slims and Philadelphia.

 In 1993, being the 4th-ranked, she left her trainer, the Australian Mervyn Rose because she couldn’t learn more from him. On 30 January Arantxa with Todd Woodbridge won the mixed-double in the Australian Open. In Florida, she played the final and lost to Steffi Graf, her great rival.

The first tournament she won in 1993 was Key Biscayne after defeating Steffi Graf, in March, by 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. She won it for the second consecutive year, and with her new trainer, the Brazilian Carlos Kirmayr.

  Steffi Graf defeated arantxa in the following tournament, Hilton Head, in April.Arantxa also lost the Amelia Island’s final to Gabriela Sabatini, days later.In the International tournament of Spain, she defeated easily the Spaniard Conchita Martínez (6-1, 6-4) In doubles, with Conchita, they won the same tournament (against the sisters Maleeva).
Another victory in 1993 against Steffi, in Hamburg, by 6-3, 6-3, in May.

She became the 8th player who had won the most in the history of women tennis, with 474 million pesetas. Unexpectedly, in Rome, Sabatini defeated Arantxa, who won the doubles with Novotna. Arantxa couldn’t play the Roland Garros final in 1993, because the American Mary Joe Fernández defeated her in semi-finals. She wasn’t lucky in Wimbledon, and the Czech Helena Sukova ruined a Spanish duel, defeating Arantxa in 1/8 finals. In that tournament, her trainer Kirmayr decides to give up, due to ‘grave causes’.They had been together only for 3 months. Spain, with the double Conchita and Arantxa, won the Fed Cup for the second time. The first victory was in 1991. They defeated Australia in the final (2-0) in Frankfurt.

In 1993 she and Helena Sukova won the doubles final in Essen, and also the US Open. She won the tournament Cap D’Agde (France) against the veteran Martina Navratilova. In 1994, Spain got its first doublet (there have been five in the tournament) with Arantxa and Sergi Bruguera.

Arantxa played 11 finals that year, and won Amelia Island, Barcelona, Hamburg, Roland Garros, Montreal, US Open, Tokyo and Oakland. She lost in the Australian open, Delray Beach, Stratton Mountain and San Diego.

In her 8th title in 1994, in Oakland (moquette) she defeated Martina Navratilova in the final (1-6, 7-6(7-5), 7-6(7-3)) In that tournament, Arantxa’s racquet impacted in a spectator’s(of the first row) face and although the hit wasn’t important, Arantxa went to help him.

At the end of the season and although Steffi Graf was still number one, she was nominated the best tennisplayer of the year (Worldchampion of 1994), which is the title that the International Tennis Federation gives. Pete Sampras got the men’s title. The beginning of 1995 was very important for Arantxa, because in the Australian Open, with Steffi Graf’s absence, she could become number one. She got 307.9131 points, and was the number one. But Graf recovered this place a month later (an interval between 6 January and 10 April) In April, the president of the Spanish Olympic Commitee, Carlos Ferrer Salat, named Arantxa for the Príncipe de Asturias for the Sport 1995 Award.

On 4 May 1995, Arantxa won the reina Sofía for the sport award, together with Conchita Martínez, because of their contribution in 1994. In Wimbledon, in July, Arantxa won her first title in that tournament, in doubles with Jana Novotna, but was disappointed because lost the singles final to Steffi Graf.

In 1996, Arantxa’s goal was to achieve the number one, but nothing went as she had expected, in spite of winning the silver medal in Atlanta ‘96 in singles and the bronze medal in doubles with Conchita Martínez. She also won that year the tournament of Hilton Head, South Carolina. Together with Irina Spirlea she won the doubles in Rome, and with Jana Novotna, in Spain. But she had many disappointments. She lost the final in Roland Garros to Steffi Graf, ans Steffi also defeated her in Wimbledon.

In 1998, Arantxa ‘shone’ again like in her best moments defeating Monica Seles in the Roland Garros final. She won 7-6(7-5), 0-6, 6-2. There was a Spanish final in men, and a Spaniard in the women’s final.

The catalan Gabriel Urpi was also Arantxa’s trainer, and since 1997, Emilio has been her trainer. 1997 was the worst year in Arantxa’s career. She didn’t won any tournament (for the first time in 10 years) In 1998 she recovered completely, winning Roland Garros by surprise. Arantxa lives with her parents, and very close to her brothers Emilio and Javier, and her sister Marisa (she hasn’t been a player) Anyway, since 1995 she has got a boyfriend, the journalist Joan Vehils, 30 y.o.