Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario Reaches Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Jan 18, 2007 | Print
| 
The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport Beach, Rhode Island has announced that Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario will be inducted into the HOF on this year’s ballot.
She retired from the WTA Tour in November of 2002 and was elected to the Hall in the first year of her eligibility.
In addition to Sanchez-Vicario, ATP Tour legend Pete Sampras, Sweden’s first Grand Slam winner Sven Davidson, and tennis photographer Russ Adams will be honored on Saturday, July 14 at Bill Talbert Center Court Stadium.
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario was born in Barcelona and became one of the leading ladies in Spanish tennis.
She captured three singles championships at Roland Garros (1989, 1994, 1998) and became the first Spanish woman to win the US Open singles crown (1994). In total she captured 14 titles in Grand Slam events: four singles, six doubles and four mixed doubles. In a career spanning 18 years, she accumulated 29 career singles titles and 67 doubles titles.
She was ranked in the World Top 10 for 11 years with a career win-loss record of 759-295. She is a former World No. 1 ranked player, holding the top spot for twelve weeks.
She was the first Spanish player to reach the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, and additionally held the No. 1 spot simultaneously in singles and doubles (February 13, 1995), one of only four women to achieve that feat.
Established in 1954 and recognized in 1986 as the sport’s official Hall of Fame by the International Tennis Federation, the governing body of tennis, the International Tennis Hall of Fame has inducted 200 people (204 including the 2007 Class) representing 18 countries.
If you enjoyed this tennis article, please sign up for a free subscription!
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.