Spanish Tennis Success at Wimbledon: A Legacy of Champions

Spanish Tennis Success at Wimbledon: A Look at the Achievements

Despite the long-standing belief that Spanish tennis players were not suited for grass courts, the Spanish tennis community has had a respectable presence and success at Wimbledon. The notion that “la hierba es para las vacas” (grass is for cows) has been debunked by the achievements of Spanish players on the prestigious grass courts of Wimbledon.

Since 1932, when Enrique ‘Bubi’ Maier and American Elizabeth Ryan won the mixed doubles final against Belgian Sigart and the legendary Harry Hopman, Spanish tennis has reached the finals of Wimbledon 31 times. Out of those 31 finals, 12 were won by Spanish players, with 11 individuals claiming a Wimbledon title.

In the singles category, the first Spanish champion was Manolo Santana in 1966. He defeated Dennis Ralston in the final with a score of 6-4, 11-9, and 6-4, giving Spanish tennis the much-needed boost to become a popular sport in Spain. Santana’s success was followed by Conchita Martínez, who won the women’s singles title in 1994 against Martina Navratilova. Rafael Nadal then made his mark by winning his first Wimbledon title in the historic 2008 final against Roger Federer, and he repeated his success in 2010 against Tomas Berdych. The most recent individual Spanish title at Wimbledon was achieved by Garbiñe Muguruza in 2017, defeating Serena Williams.

In doubles, however, Spain has only won one title. In 1995, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and the late Czech player Jana Novotna triumphed over Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva, who were competing for the top spot in the world rankings. In the senior category, Maier and Ryan’s victory in mixed doubles remains the only Spanish success.

In the junior category, Manuel Orantes started the Spanish success in 1967 by defeating Mike Estep, who later became a successful coach. Alejandro Davidovich followed in 2017, and last year, Ane Mintegi claimed the first junior women’s title. The juniors have also contributed two more titles in doubles: in 1986, Tomás Carbonell won alongside Petr Korda, and last year, Alejandro Manzanera partnered with Lithuanian Butvilas. The latter final was historic as it was the first all-Spanish final at Wimbledon, with Dani Rincón and Jordanian Shelbayh on the other side of the net.

Several other Spanish players have reached Wimbledon finals. Eduardo Flaquer and Manuel Gomar played the first Spanish final in 1923. Lil Alvarez made three unsuccessful attempts at the women’s singles title. It is worth noting that during those years, Wimbledon had the Challenge Round, where the previous year’s winner only played the final as the defending champion against the winner of the “All Comers” tournament.

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Jana Novotna lost in the doubles final to Fernández and Zvereva a year before becoming champions, just like Garbiñe Muguruza, who faced Serena Williams. Virginia Ruano, alongside Paola Suárez, fell short three times in the women’s doubles final. Sergio Casal and Emilio Sánchez Vicario reached the Wimbledon final a year before winning Olympic medals.

Rafael Nadal also reached the Wimbledon final twice before winning his first title, and he played one more final, losing to Djokovic. Javier Sánchez Vicario lost in the junior final when he was the world number one in the category, and Magüi Serna played the first Spanish junior women’s final, losing to Mauresmo.

In the most recent edition of Wimbledon in 2021, Spanish tennis players reached three finals: they won both junior categories, including an all-Spanish final, but Marcel Granollers and Argentine Horacio Zeballos fell short in the doubles final. The most recent junior final appearance was by Carlos Gimeno Valero in 2019.

Here is a list of all the Spanish finals at Wimbledon:

1923 (Men’s Doubles): Godfree-Lycett (GBR) def. Eduardo Flaquer-Manuel Gomar 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
1926 (Women’s Singles): Kitty McKane (GBR) def. Lil Alvarez 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
1927 (Women’s Singles): Helen Wills (USA) def. Lil Alvarez 6-2, 6-4
1928 (Women’s Singles): Helen Wills (USA) def. Lil Alvarez 6-2, 6-3
1932 (Mixed Doubles): Ryan-Enrique Maier (USA-ESP) def. Sigart-Hopman (BEL-AUS) 7-5, 6-2
1966 (Men’s Singles): Manuel Santana def. Dennis Ralston (USA) 6-4, 11-9, 6-4
1967 (Junior Boys’ Singles): Manuel Orantes def. Mike Estep (USA) 6-2, 6-0
1986 (Junior Boys’ Singles): Eduardo Vélez (MEX) def. Javier Sánchez Vicario 6-3, 7-5
1986 (Junior Boys’ Doubles): Toms Carbonell-Korda (ESP-CZE) def. Barr-Karrasch (AUS-CAN) 6-1, 6-1
1987 (Men’s Doubles): Flach-Seguso (USA) def. Casal-Sánchez (ESP) 3-6, 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-4
1994 (Women’s Singles): Conchita Martínez def. Martina Navratilova (USA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
1994 (Women’s Doubles): Fernández-Zvereva (USA-BLR) def. Novotna-Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (CZE-ESP) 6-4, 6-1
1995 (Women’s Singles): Steffi Graf (GER) def. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
1995 (Women’s Doubles): Novotna-Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (CZE-ESP) def. Fernández-Zvereva (USA-BLR) 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
1996 (Women’s Singles): Steffi Graf (GER) def. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-3, 7-5
1996 (Junior Girls’ Singles): Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) def. Magui Serna 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2002 (Women’s Doubles): Williams-Williams (USA) def. Virginia Ruano-Suárez (ESP-ARG) 6-2, 7-5
2003 (Women’s Doubles): Clijsters-Sugiyama (BEL-JPN) def. Virginia Ruano-Suárez (ESP-ARG) 6-4, 6-4
2006 (Men’s Singles): Roger Federer (SUI) def. Rafael Nadal 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7El tenis español ha tenido un destacado desempeño en el torneo de Wimbledon a lo largo de los años, a pesar de que en el pasado se le dio la espalda al considerar que la hierba era para las vacas. Sin embargo, el palmarés del tenis español en Wimbledon no es tan escaso como se podría pensar.

Desde que en 1932 Enrique ‘Bubi’ Maier y la estadounidense Elizabeth Ryan ganaran en la final de los dobles mixtos, ha habido 31 finales con presencia española. De esas, 12 se ganaron, y son 11 los tenistas españoles que cuentan en su palmarés con un título de Wimbledon.

En el apartado individual, el primero en ganar fue Manolo Santana en 1966. Derrotó en la final a Dennis Ralston y dio al tenis español el impulso definitivo para convertirse en deporte de masas en España. Después, Conchita Martínez se convirtió en campeona en 1994 al vencer a Martina Navratilova. Rafael Nadal también ha dejado su huella en Wimbledon, ganando en 2008 y 2010. Hasta ahora, el último título individual español en Wimbledon ha sido el de Garbiñe Muguru

1) What was the score for the PAA match between Conchita Martínez and Martina Navratilova in 1994?

-6, 6-4, 6-2

1994 (Women’s Singles): Conchita Martínez def. Martina Navratilova (USA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

1995 (Women’s Doubles): Sánchez Vicario-Novotna (ESP-CZE) def. Fernández-Zvereva (USA-BLR) 6-3, 7-6(5)

1996 (Junior Boys’ Singles): George Bastl (SUI) def. Joan Balcells 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

1998 (Women’s Doubles): Fernández-Zvereva (USA-BLR) def. Ruano-Suárez (ESP) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

1999 (Women’s Doubles): Fernández-Zvereva (USA-BLR) def. Ruano-Suárez (ESP) 6-4, 6-2

2000 (Women’s Doubles): Fernández-Zvereva (USA-BLR) def. Ruano-Suárez (ESP) 6-2, 7-5

2006 (Men’s Singles): Roger Federer (SUI) def. Rafael Nadal 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3

2008 (Women’s Singles): Venus Williams (USA) def. Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4

2008 (Men’s Singles): Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (SUI) 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7

2010 (Men’s Singles): Rafael Nadal def. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 6-3, 7-5, 6-4

2015 (Men’s Singles): Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. Roger Federer (SUI) 7-6(1), 6-7(10), 6-4, 6-3

2016 (Men’s Doubles): Peers-Kontinen (AUS-FIN) def. López-López (ESP) 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3

2017 (Women’s Singles): Garbiñe Muguruza def. Serena Williams (USA) 7-5, 6-0

2017 (Junior Boys’ Singles): Davidovich Fokina def. Axel Geller (ARG) 7-6(2), 6-3

2018 (Junior Boys’ Doubles): A. Manzanera-Butvilas (ESP-LTU) def. Draper-N. Stewart (GBR) 7