Former world no. 1 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario has started her fraud trial in Barcelona, crying as she claims she trusted her ex-husband to manage her assets.
The 51-year-old and her ex-husband Josep Santacana were accused of manipulating the Banque de Luxembourg, the prosecutor claims, and were charged with confiscating assets.
This continuous accusation of hiding assets to avoid a $8.14 million debt started in 2009. However, she asserted that she was not aware of any criminal activity, placing complete faith in Santacana.
She emphasized that while she played tennis, she lacked the in-depth understanding necessary to manage assets. They broke up in 2019, but if found guilty they may soon be serving a four-year prison and paying back millions of euros in damages.
Sanchez Vicario told the court in Barcelona: “I did what he told me to do, because I am a tennis player, I have no knowledge of assets or companies or anything. I trusted my husband.”
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in 2023
Now ranked no., Sanchez-Vicario played her last match on the 1st of January 1970 when she overcame Patricia Wartusch 6-2 6-4 in the 2nd round in Sydney (draw).
At the moment, during this season Sanchez-Vicario has an overall 0-0 match record.