Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario may have to get a part-time job to pay off her back-tax debt. The Spanish Supreme Court has ordered the former top-ranked women’s player to pay back approximately $5.1 million in unpaid income tax. The court rejected Sanchez-Vicario’s assertion that she was a resident of Andorra and not Spain from 1989 to 1993. The court said in its ruling Thursday that the three-time French Open champion “never effectively lived in Andorra and never had the intention of doing it in any moment, either.”
The 37-year-old Sanchez-Vicario, a native of Barcelona, was a three-time French Open champion and also captured a U.S. Open title in 1994. She also won six Grand Slam doubles and four major mixed doubles championships during her outstanding career before retiring in 2002.
Sanchez-Vicario reached No. 1 in both singles and doubles in the 1990s and her career prize money was just under $17 million after piling up 29 singles and 67 doubles titles. Hopefully she hasn’t spent it all, or had a good investment counselor. Otherwise, if she loses her appeal, she may have to come out of retirement like Justine Henin and Kim Clijstershave done recently. Henin and Clijsters’ reason is to play tennis again. Sanchez-Vicario’s reason would be to try to earn some cash to pay off her debt.
TennisUniverse.com
