Arantxa Sanchez Vicario Loses $60 Million Earnings
Former tennis star Arantxa Sanchez Vicario revealed in a book published on Tuesday that her parents blew through an estimated $60 million of her career earnings due to mismanagement.
Excerpts from the book, Arantxa Vamos! Memoirs of a struggle, a life and a woman, ran in the El Mundo newspaper over the weekend.
''I never doubted that my father would manage my assets in the most efficient and beneficial way,'' she wrote.
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Sanchez Vicario, 40, said her parents were obsessed with her career and had control over most of it. Sanchez, who became Spain's Fed Cup captain in December, said she received a monthly payment from her father and allowed him to invest the rest of her money.
''They left me with nothing, and I owe the tax authorities. How can it be that everything I achieved has vanished, that it does not exist?'' she added.
Sanchez Vicario wrote that after ''breaking free'' from her parents' influence, ''the surprise came. Then, the disappointment. The surprise of finding myself without resources after a career full of successes and therefore winnings,'' the four-time Grand Slam singles champion wrote.
Sanchez Vicario, formerly ranked No.1 in the WTA, retired in 2002 and is now estranged from her parents and brothers Emilio and Javier, also former tennis players.
In an open letter to Spanish media on Monday, Sanchez Vicario's mother, Marisa, responded to her daughter's claims saying she and her husband were shocked by the new book and innocent of the accusations.
''We never took advantage of Arantxa and under no circumstances is she broke," Marisa stated.
Marisa added that her husband Emilio, 75, has Alzheimer's disease, intestinal cancer and a weak heart.
Sanchez Vicario has won three French Open titles and the coveted U.S. Open title. She also helped Spain win the Fed Cup a total of five times. In 2008, she became the first Spanish woman elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
