The Most Famous

TENNIS PLAYERS from Spain

This page contains a list of the greatest Spanish Tennis Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,569 Tennis Players, 61 of which were born in Spain. This makes Spain the birth place of the 5th most number of Tennis Players behind Russia, and France.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Spanish Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Spanish Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Spanish Tennis Players.

1. Rafael Nadal (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 61.69, Rafael Nadal is the most famous Spanish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 132 different languages on wikipedia.

Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. Nadal has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 209 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles. He has won 92 ATP-level singles titles, including 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal, with 63 of these on clay courts. Nadal is one of only two men to complete the Career Golden Slam in singles. His 81 consecutive wins on clay constitute the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era. For over a decade, Nadal has led men's tennis along with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the Big Three. At the start of his professional career, Nadal became one of the most successful teenagers in ATP Tour history, reaching the world No. 2 ranking and winning 16 titles before turning 20, including his first French Open and six Masters events. Nadal became the world No. 1 for the first time in 2008 after defeating Federer in a historic Wimbledon final, his first major victory off clay. He followed up his win with an Olympic singles gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After defeating Djokovic in the 2010 US Open final, then-24-year-old Nadal became the youngest man in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam, and the first man to win majors on three different surfaces (hard, grass, and clay) in the same year (Surface Slam). After two injury-plagued seasons, Nadal returned to the Tour in 2013, reaching 14 finals, winning two majors and five Masters events including the US Open Series sweep (Summer Slam). He continued his dominance at the French Open, securing six titles, two US Open titles, an Australian Open title, and an Olympic doubles gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics with Marc López. Nadal surpassed his joint-record with Djokovic and Federer for the most Grand Slam men's singles titles at the 2022 Australian Open, and became one of four men in history to complete the double Career Grand Slam in singles. As a left-handed player, one of Nadal's main strengths is his forehand, which he hits with a high degree of topspin. He also regularly places among the Tour leaders in percentage of return games, return points, and break points won. Nadal has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award five times and was the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2011 and 2021. Time named Nadal one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. He is a recipient of the Grand Cross of Royal Order of Sports Merit, Grand Cross of Order of the Second of May, the Grand Cross of Naval Merit, and the Medal of the City of Paris. Representing Spain, he has won two Olympic gold medals, and led the nation to four Davis Cup titles. Nadal has also opened a tennis academy in Mallorca, and is an active philanthropist.

2. Manuel Santana (1938 - 2021)

With an HPI of 57.49, Manuel Santana is the 2nd most famous Spanish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Manuel Santana Martínez (10 May 1938 – 11 December 2021), also known as Manolo Santana, was a Spanish tennis player. He was ranked as amateur world No. 1 in 1965 by Ned Potter and in 1966 by Lance Tingay and Sport In The USSR.He won the US Open in 1965 and, before winning Wimbledon the following year, he was quoted as saying "grass is just for cows", favouring artificial surfaces.

3. Manuel Orantes (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 57.29, Manuel Orantes is the 3rd most famous Spanish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Manuel Orantes Corral (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈnwel oˈɾantes koˈral]; born 6 February 1949) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He won the US Open men's singles title in 1975, beating the defending champion Jimmy Connors in the final. Orantes reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2.

4. Andrés Gimeno (1937 - 2019)

With an HPI of 56.44, Andrés Gimeno is the 4th most famous Spanish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera (3 August 1937 – 9 October 2019) was a Spanish tennis player. His greatest achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open and became the oldest first-time Grand Slam champion in the Open era at 34 years of age.

5. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 55.85, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario is the 5th most famous Spanish Tennis Player. Her biography has been translated into 55 different languages.

Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈɾanθaθw isaˈβel maˈɾi.a aˈɾantʃa ˈsantʃeθ βiˈkaɾjo]; born 18 December 1971) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player in both singles and doubles. She won 14 Grand Slam titles: four in singles, six in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles. She also won four Olympic medals and five Fed Cup titles representing Spain. In 1994, she was crowned the ITF World Champion for the year.

6. Juan Gisbert Sr. (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 53.96, Juan Gisbert Sr. is the 6th most famous Spanish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Juan Gisbert Sr. (born 5 April 1942) is a retired Spanish amateur and professional tennis player from the 1960s and 1970s. He was ranked world No. 14 in 1967. He won one ATP singles title (plus several others) and reached the finals at the Australian Championships in 1968 and Cincinnati in 1971. In June 1965 he won the Conde de Godo Championships (currently Barcelona Open) in Barcelona on clay at the Réal Tennis Club defeating Manuel Santana, Rafael Osuna, and Martin Mulligan in best-of -five set matches. Gisbert won the 1971 ATP Bavarian International Tennis Championships at Munich on clay defeating Mulligan, Christian Kuhnke, and Péter Szőke in the final.

7. Manuel Alonso Areizaga (1895 - 1984)

With an HPI of 51.55, Manuel Alonso Areizaga is the 7th most famous Spanish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Manuel Alonso de Areizaga (12 November 1895 – 11 October 1984) was a Spanish tennis player. He was the first Spanish tennis player of international stature.

8. Sergi Bruguera (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 50.43, Sergi Bruguera is the 8th most famous Spanish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Sergi Bruguera i Torner (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsɛɾʒi βɾuˈɣeɾə i tuɾˈne]; born 16 January 1971) is a Spanish former professional tennis player and coach. He won consecutive men's singles titles at the French Open in 1993 and 1994, a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in men's singles and reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in August 1994. Bruguera is the only player to have a winning record against both Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. He won three of his five matches against Sampras: Bruguera leads 1–0 on hard court, 2–1 on clay, and Sampras leads 1–0 on carpet. In their only match, at the 2000 Barcelona Open, Bruguera defeated Federer 6–1, 6–1. By number of games won, the match was Federer's worst loss in his entire career.Bruguera was selected to captain the Spain Davis Cup team in 2018. He became the coach of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga between 2019 and 2022, then he coached Alexander Zverev in May 2022 but they split ways after the 2023 Madrid Open due to creative differences. Now, he is the coach of Arthur Fils with Sébastien Grosjean since October 2023.

9. Carlos Moyá (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 50.38, Carlos Moyá is the 9th most famous Spanish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 50 different languages.

Carlos Moyá Llompart (Spanish: [ˈkaɾlos moˈʝa ʎomˈpaɾt]; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the 1998 French Open singles champion and the runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's winning Davis Cup team. He has been Rafael Nadal's primary coach since 2016.

10. Juan Carlos Ferrero (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 49.55, Juan Carlos Ferrero is the 10th most famous Spanish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 52 different languages.

Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (Spanish pronunciation: [xwaŋ ˈkaɾlos feˈreɾo ðoˈnat]; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player and current tennis coach. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he held for eight weeks. He was runner-up at the 2002 French Open and 2003 US Open and won 16 ATP Tour titles, including four Masters events. He was nicknamed "Mosquito" for his speed and slender physical build. Ferrero retired from professional tennis following the 2012 Valencia Open. He has since been a tennis coach to two-time ATP Finals champion and Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev, and to US Open and Wimbledon champion and world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.

People

Pantheon has 70 people classified as Spanish tennis players born between 1895 and 2003. Of these 70, 67 (95.71%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Spanish tennis players include Rafael Nadal, Manuel Orantes, and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. The most famous deceased Spanish tennis players include Manuel Santana, Andrés Gimeno, and Manuel Alonso Areizaga. As of April 2024, 9 new Spanish tennis players have been added to Pantheon including Juan Gisbert Sr., Juan Aguilera, and Carlos Costa.