Tennis in Spain
Long regarded as an elite sport in Spain, tennis, along with most other racquet sports, has taken a little longer to attract Spaniards to jump on the bandwagon. For years tennis lacked in appeal due to a shortage of public tennis courts, in conjunction with high prices for private clubs. Lately, however, Spain has become one of the world's strongest tennis countries and now produces some of the world's best players.
Growing steadily in popularity, tennis is fast becoming the new “it” sport in Spain. Thanks to Rafael Nadal's continuous rise to stardom and the increase in tennis courts and clubs across the country, tennis is becoming the new sport of choice for singles, families and those looking to get a little exercise all year round.
Due to Spain's incredibly accommodating climate, tennis lovers can play outside most of the year on the thousands of courts around the country.
Spain has produced a number of tennis champions, excelling in tournaments held on clay courts such as the Roland Garros tournament.
Besides that, Spain has also won the Davis Cup five times and the Fed Cup five other times
Rafael Nadal is considered the greatest Spanish tennis player of all time. He has won the French Open a record twelve times, winning four consecutive French Open titles from 2005–2008 along with five consecutive French Open titles from 2010–2014 and another three titles from 2017–2019. After defeating then world number #1 Roger Federer in 2008, Nadal claimed the Wimbledon trophy and became the second Spaniard to do so. He also won the 2009 Australian Open, the first male Spaniard to do so. In 2009, he became the first player ever to simultaneously hold Grand Slam titles on clay, grass, and hardcourt. In addition, Nadal is the men's singles Gold Medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China and men's doubles gold medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. In 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019, he won the U.S. Open. He currently has nineteen Grand Slam titles to his name: twelve French Open titles, two Wimbledon titles, four US Open titles, and one Australian Open title, making him second only to Federer, who has won 20 major titles.
Spain has produced several other world number one players; Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in 1995, Carlos Moyá and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Other Grand Slam champions are Manuel Santana, Sergi Bruguera, Andrés Gimeno, Manuel Orantes, Conchita Martínez, Albert Costa and Garbiñe Muguruza.
Tournaments held in Spain on the men's tour every year include Madrid and Barcelona. The women have events in Madrid and Mallorca.
List of Spanish tennis players (Open Era only)
Only includes players ranked in the top 50. Bold names indicate currently active players;Men
Highest ranking | Name | Birth | Place of Birth | Turned pro | Titles |
No. 1 | Rafael Nadal | 1986 | Manacor, Mallorca | 2001 | 84 |
No. 1 | Carlos Moyá | 1976 | Palma | 1995 | 20 |
No. 1 | Juan Carlos Ferrero | 1980 | Ontinyent, Valencia | 1995 | 16 |
No. 2 | Manuel Orantes | 1949 | Granada | 1968 | 33 |
No. 2 | Àlex Corretja | 1974 | Barcelona | 1991 | 17 |
No. 3 | David Ferrer | 1982 | Xàbia, Alicante | 2000 | 27 |
No. 3 | Sergi Bruguera | 1971 | Barcelona | 1988 | 14 |
No. 5 | Tommy Robredo | 1982 | Hostalric, Girona | 1998 | 12 |
No. 6 | José Higueras | 1953 | Diezma | 1973 | 16 |
No. 6 | Albert Costa | 1975 | Lleida | 1993 | 12 |
No. 7 | Emilio Sánchez | 1965 | Madrid | 1984 | 15 |
No. 7 | Alberto Berasategui | 1973 | Bilbao | 1991 | 14 |
No. 7 | Fernando Verdasco | 1983 | Madrid | 2001 | 7 |
No. 7 | Juan Aguilera | 1962 | Barcelona | 1981 | 5 |
No. 9 | Nicolás Almagro | 1985 | Murcia | 2003 | 13 |
No. 10 | Carlos Costa | 1968 | Barcelona | 1988 | 6 |
No. 10 | Félix Mantilla | 1974 | Barcelona | 1993 | 10 |
No. 10 | Pablo Carreño Busta | 1991 | Gijón | 2009 | 3 |
No. 12 | Feliciano López | 1981 | Toledo | 1997 | 6 |
No. 13 | Roberto Bautista Agut | 1988 | Castellón de la Plana | 2006 | 9 |
No. 17 | Albert Ramos-Viñolas | 1988 | Barcelona | 2004 | 1 |
No. 18 | Francisco Clavet | 1968 | Madrid | 1988 | 8 |
No. 19 | Marcel Granollers | 1986 | Barcelona | 2003 | 4 |
No. 19 | Albert Portas | 1973 | Barcelona | 1994 | 1 |
No. 22 | Albert Montañés | 1980 | Tarragona | 1999 | 6 |
No. 23 | Jordi Arrese | 1964 | Barcelona | 1982 | 6 |
No. 23 | Javier Sánchez | 1968 | Pamplona | 1986 | 4 |
No. 23 | Guillermo García-López | 1983 | La Roda, Albacete | 2002 | 3 |
No. 29 | Fernando Vicente | 1977 | Benircarló, Castelló | 1996 | 3 |
No. 30 | Julián Alonso | 1977 | Canet de Mar, Barcelona | 1996 | 2 |
No. 31 | Sergio Casal | 1962 | Barcelona | 1981 | 1 |
No. 32 | Pablo Andújar | 1986 | Valencia | 2005 | 2 |
No. 32 | Juan Gisbert | 1942 | Barcelona | 1968 | 1 |
No. 34 | Alberto Martín | 1978 | Barcelona | 1995 | 3 |
No. 40 | Tomás Carbonell | 1968 | Barcelona | 1987 | 2 |
No. 40 | Galo Blanco | 1976 | Oviedo | 1995 | 1 |
No. 41 | David Sánchez | 1978 | Zamora | 1997 | 2 |
No. 43 | Jordi Burillo | 1972 | Barcelona | 1991 | 1 |
No. 44 | Álex Calatrava | 1973 | Cologne, Germany | 1993 | 1 |
No. 47 | Juan Albert Viloca | 1973 | Barcelona | 1992 | 0 |
No. 48 | Daniel Gimeno-Traver | 1985 | Valencia | 2004 | 0 |
No. 48 | Óscar Hernández | 1978 | Barcelona | 1998 | 0 |
No. 50 | Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo | 1978 | Alicante | 1998 | 0 |
;Women
Highest ranking | Name | Birth | Place of Birth | Turned pro | Titles |
No. 1 | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 1971 | Barcelona | 1985 | 29 |
No. 1 | Garbiñe Muguruza | 1993 | Guatire, Venezuela | 2012 | 5 |
No. 2 | Conchita Martínez | 1972 | Monzón, Huesca | 1988 | 33 |
No. 6 | Carla Suárez Navarro | 1988 | Las Palmas | 2003 | 2 |
No. 16 | Anabel Medina Garrigues | 1982 | Valencia | 1998 | 11 |
No. 19 | María José Martínez Sánchez | 1982 | Yecla, Murcia | 1998 | 5 |
No. 19 | Magüi Serna | 1979 | Las Palmas | 1996 | 3 |
No. 22 | Ángeles Montolio | 1975 | Barcelona | 1990 | 3 |
No. 27 | Gala León García | 1973 | Madrid | 1990 | 1 |
No. 27 | Cristina Torrens Valero | 1974 | Pamplona | 1992 | 2 |
No. 28 | Virginia Ruano Pascual | 1973 | Madrid | 1992 | 3 |
No. 33 | María Sánchez Lorenzo | 1977 | Salamanca | 1994 | 1 |
No. 35 | Nuria Llagostera Vives | 1980 | Mallorca | 1996 | 2 |
No. 40 | Lourdes Domínguez Lino | 1981 | Pontevedra | 1996 | 2 |
No. 46 | Arantxa Parra Santonja | 1982 | Barcelona | 2000 | 0 |
No. 47 | María Teresa Torró Flor | 1992 | Villena | 2007 | 1 |
No. 47 | Marta Marrero | 1983 | Las Palmas | 1998 | 0 |
Grand Slam performances of Spanish tennis players
Only includes players who have reached at least a Grand Slam quarterfinalPlayer | Australian Open | Roland Garros | Wimbledon | US Open | Total titles |
Rafael Nadal | Winner | Winner | Winner | Winner | 19 |
Manuel Santana | DNP | Winner | Winner | Winner | 4 |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | Runner up | Winner | Runner up | Winner | 4 |
Sergi Bruguera | 4R | Winner | 4R | 4R | 2 |
Garbiñe Muguruza | Runner Up | Winner | Winner | 4R | 2 |
Conchita Martínez | Runner up | Runner up | Winner | SF | 1 |
Juan Carlos Ferrero | SF | Winner | QF | Runner up | 1 |
Manuel Orantes | QF | Runner up | SF | Winner | 1 |
Andrés Gimeno | Runner up | Winner | SF | 4R | 1 |
Carlos Moyá | Runner up | Winner | 4R | SF | 1 |
Albert Costa | QF | Winner | 2R | 4R | 1 |
Manuel Alonso | DNP | SF | Runner up | QF | 0 |
Lili Álvarez | DNP | SF | Runner up | DNP | 0 |
Àlex Corretja | 3R | Runner up | 2R | QF | 0 |
Alberto Berasategui | QF | Runner up | 1R | 2R | 0 |
David Ferrer | SF | Runner up | QF | SF | 0 |
Fernando Verdasco | SF | 4R | 4R | QF | 0 |
Félix Mantilla | QF | SF | 3R | 4R | 0 |
Pablo Carreño Busta | 3R | QF | 1R | SF | 0 |
José Higueras | DNP | SF | 2R | 4R | 0 |
Emilio Sánchez | 4R | QF | 4R | QF | 0 |
Tommy Robredo | QF | QF | 4R | QF | 0 |
Virginia Ruano Pascual | QF | QF | 4R | 3R | 0 |
Carla Suárez Navarro | QF | QF | 4R | QF | 0 |
Feliciano López | 3R | 4R | QF | QF | 0 |
Nicolás Almagro | QF | QF | 3R | 4R | 0 |
Javier Sánchez | 3R | 4R | 2R | QF | 0 |
Marta Marrero | 4R | QF | 2R | 1R | 0 |
Albert Ramos Viñolas | 2R | QF | 3R | 2R | 0 |
Spanish Tennis achievements timeline
Year | Grand Slam titles | Total titles | Team competitions | Olympics | Special achievements |
1988 | 0 | 4 | - | 1 silver | |
1989 | 1 | 8 | - | - | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario becomes first Spanish woman to win a Grand Slam |
1990 | 0 | 12 | Hopman Cup champions | - | |
1991 | 0 | 12 | Fed Cup champions | - | |
1992 | 0 | 11 | - | 2 silvers, 1 bronze | |
1993 | 1 | 19 | Fed Cup champions | - | |
1994 | 4 | 26 | Fed Cup champions | - | Sergi Bruguera and Alberto Berasategui play first all-Spanish Grand Slam final Conchita Martínez becomes first Spanish woman to win Wimbledon |
1995 | 0 | 12 | Fed Cup champions | - | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario reaches #1 in both singles and doubles rankings |
1996 | 0 | 16 | 2 silvers, 1 bronze | ||
1997 | 0 | 16 | - | - | |
1998 | 2 | 17 | Fed Cup champions | Àlex Corretja wins Tennis Masters Cup | |
1999 | 0 | 13 | - | Carlos Moyá reaches #1 | |
2000 | 0 | 11 | Davis Cup champions | 1 bronze | |
2001 | 0 | 18 | - | ||
2002 | 1 | 12 | Hopman Cup champions | - | |
2003 | 1 | 13 | - | Juan Carlos Ferrero reaches #1 | |
2004 | 0 | 9 | Davis Cup champions | 1 silver | |
2005 | 1 | 16 | - | ||
2006 | 1 | 13 | - | ||
2007 | 1 | 13 | - | ||
2008 | 2 | 18 | Davis Cup champions | 1 gold, 1 silver | Rafael Nadal wins olympic gold medal and ends first year as #1 |
2009 | 1 | 16 | Davis Cup champions | - | Rafael Nadal becomes first Spanish player to win the Australian Open |
2010 | 3 | 20 | Hopman Cup champions | - | Rafael Nadal completes career golden slam after winning the US Open |
2011 | 1 | 18 | Davis Cup champions | - | |
2012 | 1 | 15 | |||
2013 | 2 | 17 | Hopman Cup champions | - | |
2014 | 1 | 14 | - | ||
2015 | 0 | 11 | - | ||
2016 | 1 | 13 | 1 gold | Garbiñe Muguruza wins first grand slam |