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Former World No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario says she feels privileged and honored to have had the great career that she did, in a live chat with the We Are Tennis. The Spaniard won 14 Grand Slam titles in her career - four in singles, six in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles.
During the chat, the Spaniard says, "It's very easy to say that you've been No.1, but it's very difficult to get there, but even more to maintain yourself there. I was happy enough for a very long career. I never had too many injuries, so I was very lucky as well because I prepared myself very well, and I was lucky enough to win on all the surfaces.
If they would have told me before, when I was younger, that I'd have to sign [something] that I'd have that career, I would have signed straight away! But I never expected to have that, so I'm very privileged and very honored to have a great career as I had."
Arantxa Sanchez--Vicario says it's very difficult to get to World No.
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Sanchez Vicario went on to reach World No.1 in both singles and doubles, and finished her career with 29 WTA singles titles and 69 WTA doubles titles. Her favourite hunting ground was the French Open, where she won the singles event in 1989, 1994 and 1998 and she was also the first Spanish woman to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007.
Recalling her first title in Paris in 1989 over the then overwhelming favourite Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario says, "[Graf] was two-and-a-half years straight, winning everything! Everything means Grand Slams, gold medal, all the best tournaments in the world.
Being No.1 in the world for two years consecutively... I think that helped me a lot. I was very ready because I had nothing to lose. I had a great tournament, beating other Top 10 players as well. When I heard, ‘Game, set, and match Sanchez,’ I could not believe it.
I just threw the racquet in the air, I rolled on the clay, and I started crying like a baby. I could not believe it until I had the trophy in my hands, and I was the happiest person in the whole life. And I made history, because nobody expected that, but sometimes in tennis, these things happen!"
