Tennis in Spain

Tennis is highly popular in Spain, and many Spanish tennis players have achieved international success. The roots of Spanish tennis can be traced to the 19th century, when clubs such as the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona 1899 were founded. ^[1] In September 1909, the Lawn-Tennis Association of Spain (Spanish: Asociación General de Lawn Tennis, AGLT) was founded to act as the official governing body of Spanish tennis. ^[2] It would become known as the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (Spanish: Real Federación Española de Tenis, RFET) in 1940.

After a slow start throughout the early 20th century, professional Spanish tennis began its rise to prominence in the 1960s, when Manuel Santana became the first Spaniard to win a major singles title. ^[3] Modern Spanish tennis is particularly characterised by success on clay courts, which many Spaniards train on in their youth. ^[4] Spain has won the Davis Cup six times (2000, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019) and the Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup) five times (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998).

Tennis tournaments held in Spain on the men's tour every year include the Madrid Masters, Barcelona, and Mallorca. The Madrid Masters is also contested on the women's tour.

Notable players

Rafael Nadal in 2015

Rafael Nadal is widely considered the greatest Spanish tennis player of all time. He won 22 major singles titles, the second-most in men's tennis history. He won the French Open a record 14 times, between 2005 and 2022. ^[5] He was the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open. ^[6] After defeating Novak Djokovic in the 2010 US Open final, he became the first man in history to win majors on clay, grass, and hardcourt in a calendar year, and the first Spaniard to complete a Career Grand Slam, which he achieved twice. Nadal is also a two-time Olympic gold medalist, having won a singles title at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a doubles title at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was ranked as the ATP world No. 1 for a total of 209 weeks.

Spain has produced five other players ranked singles No. 1 in the Open Era: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (French Open champion in 1989, 1994 and 1998, and at the US Open in 1994), Carlos Moyá (1998 French Open champion), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003 French Open champion), Garbiñe Muguruza (2016 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon champion) and Carlos Alcaraz (champion at the US Open in 2022 and 2025, Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024, and the French Open in 2024 and 2025).

Other Spanish Grand Slam champions include Manuel Santana (1961 and 1964 French Open, 1966 Wimbledon and 1965 US Open champion), Sergi Bruguera (1993 and 1994 French Open champion), Andrés Gimeno (1972 French Open champion), Manuel Orantes (1975 US Open champion), Conchita Martínez (1994 Wimbledon champion), and Albert Costa (2002 French Open champion).

List of Spanish tennis players (Open Era only)

Only includes players ranked in the top 50. Bold names indicate currently active players. ^[7]

Men Highest ranking Name Birth Place of birth Turned pro Titles No. 1 Rafael Nadal 1986 Manacor, Mallorca 2001 92 No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 2003 Murcia 2018 24 No. 1 Carlos Moyá 1976 Palma 1995 20 No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 1980 Ontinyent, Valencia 1998 16 No. 2 Manuel Orantes 1949 Granada 1968 36 No. 2 Àlex Corretja 1974 Barcelona 1991 17 No. 3 David Ferrer 1982 Xàbia, Alicante 2000 27 No. 3 Sergi Bruguera 1971 Barcelona 1988 14 No. 5 Tommy Robredo 1982 Hostalric, Girona 1998 12 No. 6 José Higueras 1953 Diezma 1973 16 No. 6 Albert Costa 1975 Lleida 1993 12 No. 7 Emilio Sánchez 1965 Madrid 1984 15 No. 7 Alberto Berasategui 1973 Bilbao 1991 14 No. 7 Fernando Verdasco 1983 Madrid 2001 7 No. 7 Juan Aguilera 1962 Barcelona 1981 5 No. 9 Nicolás Almagro 1985 Murcia 2003 13 No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut 1988 Castellón de la Plana 2006 12 No. 10 Carlos Costa 1968 Barcelona 1988 6 No. 10 Félix Mantilla 1974 Barcelona 1993 10 No. 10 Pablo Carreño Busta 1991 Gijón 2009 7 No. 12 Feliciano López 1981 Toledo 1997 7 No. 14 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1999 Malaga 2017 0 No. 17 Albert Ramos-Viñolas 1988 Barcelona 2004 4 No. 18 Francisco Clavet 1968 Madrid 1988 8 No. 19 Marcel Granollers 1986 Barcelona 2003 4 No. 19 Albert Portas 1973 Barcelona 1994 1 No. 22 Albert Montañés 1980 Tarragona 1999 6 No. 23 Jordi Arrese 1964 Barcelona 1982 6 No. 23 Javier Sánchez 1968 Pamplona 1986 4 No. 23 Guillermo García-López 1983 La Roda, Albacete 2002 5 No. 29 Fernando Vicente 1977 Benicarló, Castelló 1996 3 No. 30 Julián Alonso 1977 Canet de Mar, Barcelona 1996 2 No. 31 Sergio Casal 1962 Barcelona 1981 1 No. 32 Pablo Andújar 1986 Valencia 2005 4 No. 32 Juan Gisbert 1942 Barcelona 1968 1 No. 34 Alberto Martín 1978 Barcelona 1995 3 No. 36 Pedro Martínez 1997 Alzira, Valencia 2016 1 No. 36 Jaume Munar 1997 Barcelona 2014 0 No. 37 Bernabé Zapata Miralles 1997 Valencia 2015 0 No. 40 Tomás Carbonell 1968 Barcelona 1987 2 No. 40 Galo Blanco 1976 Oviedo 1995 1 No. 41 David Sánchez 1978 Zamora 1997 2 No. 43 Jordi Burillo 1972 Barcelona 1991 1 No. 44 Álex Calatrava 1973 Cologne, Germany 1993 1 No. 47 Juan Albert Viloca 1973 Barcelona 1992 0 No. 48 Daniel Gimeno-Traver 1985 Valencia 2004 0 No. 48 Óscar Hernández 1978 Barcelona 1998 0 No. 49 Roberto Carballés Baena 1993 Tenerife 2011 2 No. 50 Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo 1978 Alicante 1998 0

Women Highest ranking Name Birth Place of birth Turned pro Titles No. 1 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 1971 Barcelona 1985 29 No. 1 Garbiñe Muguruza 1993 Guatire, Venezuela 2012 10 No. 2 Conchita Martínez 1972 Monzón, Huesca 1988 33 No. 2 Paula Badosa 1997 New York, United States 2015 4 No. 6 Carla Suárez Navarro 1988 Las Palmas 2003 2 No. 16 Anabel Medina Garrigues 1982 Valencia 1998 11 No. 19 María José Martínez Sánchez 1982 Yecla, Murcia 1998 5 No. 19 Magüi Serna 1979 Las Palmas 1996 3 No. 22 Ángeles Montolio 1975 Barcelona 1990 3 No. 27 Gala León García 1973 Madrid 1990 1 No. 27 Cristina Torrens Valero 1974 Pamplona 1992 2 No. 28 Virginia Ruano Pascual 1973 Madrid 1992 3 No. 32 Sara Sorribes Tormo 1996 Castellón de la Plana 2012 2 No. 33 María Sánchez Lorenzo 1977 Salamanca 1994 1 No. 35 Nuria Llagostera Vives 1980 Mallorca 1996 2 No. 40 Lourdes Domínguez Lino 1981 Pontevedra 1996 2 No. 40 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 2002 Pontevedra 2018 1 No. 45 Nuria Párrizas Díaz 1991 Granada 2008 0 No. 46 Arantxa Parra Santonja 1982 Barcelona 2000 0 No. 47 María Teresa Torró Flor 1992 Villena 2007 1 No. 47 Marta Marrero 1983 Las Palmas 1998 0

Grand Slam performances of Spanish tennis players

See also: List of Open Era Grand Slam champions by country § Spain

Only includes players who have reached at least a Grand Slam quarterfinal

Player	Australian Open	Roland Garros	Wimbledon	US Open	Total titles
Rafael Nadal	Winner (2)	Winner (14)	Winner (2)	Winner (4)	22
Carlos Alcaraz	QF	Winner (2)	Winner (2)	Winner (2)	6
Manuel Santana	DNP	Winner (2)	Winner	Winner	4
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	Runner up	Winner (3)	Runner up	Winner	4
Garbiñe Muguruza	Runner Up	Winner	Winner	4R	2
Sergi Bruguera	4R	Winner (2)	4R	4R	2
Conchita Martínez	Runner up	Runner up	Winner	SF	1
Juan Carlos Ferrero	SF	Winner	QF	Runner up	1
Manuel Orantes	QF	Runner up	SF	Winner	1
Andrés Gimeno	Runner up	Winner	SF	4R	1
Carlos Moyá	Runner up	Winner	4R	SF	1
Albert Costa	QF	Winner	2R	4R	1
David Ferrer	SF	Runner up	QF	SF	0
Manuel Alonso	DNP	SF	Runner up	QF	0
Lili Álvarez	DNP	SF	Runner up	DNP	0
Àlex Corretja	3R	Runner up	2R	QF	0
Alberto Berasategui	QF	Runner up	1R	2R	0
Fernando Verdasco	SF	4R	QF	QF	0
Paula Badosa	SF	QF	4R	QF	0
Roberto Bautista Agut	QF	4R	SF	4R	0
Félix Mantilla	QF	SF	3R	4R	0
Pablo Carreño Busta	4R	QF	1R	SF	0
José Higueras	DNP	SF	2R	4R	0
Tommy Robredo	QF	QF	4R	QF	0
Carla Suárez Navarro	QF	QF	4R	QF	0
Feliciano López	4R	4R	QF	QF	0
Emilio Sánchez	4R	QF	4R	QF	0
Nicolás Almagro	QF	QF	3R	4R	0
Virginia Ruano Pascual	QF	QF	4R	3R	0
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina	4R	QF	3R	4R	0
Javier Sánchez	3R	4R	2R	QF	0
Marta Marrero	4R	QF	2R	1R	0
Albert Ramos Viñolas	3R	QF	3R	2R	0

Spanish tennis achievements timeline

Year	Grand Slam singles titles	Total singles titles (ATP + WTA)	Team competitions	Olympics	Special achievements
1988	0	4 (2 ATP + 2 WTA)	-	1 silver
1989	1	8 (3 ATP + 5 WTA)	-	-	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario becomes the first Spanish woman to win a Grand Slam title
1990	0	12 (7 ATP + 5 WTA)	Hopman Cup champions (1/4)	-
1991	0	12 (8 ATP + 4 WTA)	Fed Cup champions (1/5)	-
1992	0	11 (8 ATP + 3 WTA)	-	2 silvers, 1 bronze
1993	1	19 (10 ATP + 9 WTA)	Fed Cup champions (2/5)	-
1994	4	26 (14 ATP + 12 WTA)	Fed Cup champions (3/5)	-	Sergi Bruguera and Alberto Berasategui play first all-Spanish Grand Slam final Conchita Martínez becomes the first Spanish woman to win Wimbledon
1995	0	12 (4 ATP + 8 WTA)	Fed Cup champions (4/5)	-	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario reaches No. 1 in both singles and doubles world rankings
1996	0	16 (12 ATP + 4 WTA)		2 silvers, 1 bronze
1997	0	16 (15 ATP + 1 WTA)	-	-
1998	2	17 (12 ATP + 5 WTA)	Fed Cup champions (5/5)		Àlex Corretja wins the year-end ATP Tour World Championships
1999	0	13 (9 ATP + 4 WTA)		-	Carlos Moyá reaches No. 1
2000	0	11 (9 ATP + 2 WTA)	Davis Cup champions (1/6)	1 bronze
2001	0	18 (12 ATP + 6 WTA)		-
2002	1	12 (10 ATP + 2 WTA)	Hopman Cup champions (2/4)	-
2003	1	13 (10 ATP + 3 WTA)		-	Juan Carlos Ferrero reaches No. 1
2004	0	9 (8 ATP + 1 WTA)	Davis Cup champions (2/6)	1 silver
2005	1	16 (12 ATP + 4 WTA)		-
2006	1	13 (10 ATP + 3 WTA)		-
2007	1	13 (12 ATP + 1 WTA)		-
2008	2	18 (16 ATP + 2 WTA)	Davis Cup champions (3/6)	1 gold, 1 silver	Rafael Nadal wins two majors including a 4th French Open title (the most by any Spaniard), an Olympic singles gold medal, and ends the year as No. 1 for the first time
2009	1	16 (13 ATP + 3 WTA)	Davis Cup champions (4/6)	-	Rafael Nadal becomes the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open
2010	3	20 (19 ATP + 1 WTA)	Hopman Cup champions (3/4)	-	Rafael Nadal becomes the first man to win majors on all three surfaces in one season, the only Spaniard to complete the Career Golden Slam (second overall), and ends the year as No. 1
2011	1	18 (13 ATP + 5 WTA)	Davis Cup champions (5/6)	-
2012	1	15 (14 ATP + 1 WTA)
2013	2	17 (17 ATP + 0 WTA)	Hopman Cup champions (4/4)	-	Rafael Nadal wins two majors and ends the year as No. 1
2014	1	14 (11 ATP + 3 WTA)		-
2015	0	11 (10 ATP + 1 WTA)		-
2016	1	13 (10 ATP + 3 WTA)		1 gold	Garbiñe Muguruza wins a career-first Grand Slam title
2017	3	13 (11 ATP + 2 WTA)		-	Rafael Nadal wins two majors and ends the year as No. 1 Nadal and Garbiñe Muguruza top both the ATP and WTA rankings simultaneously
2018	1	10 (9 ATP + 1 WTA)		-
2019	2	9 (8 ATP + 1 WTA)	Davis Cup champions (6/6)	-
2020	1	2 (2 ATP + 0 WTA)		-	Rafael Nadal wins a milestone 20th Grand Slam singles title, reaches 1000 career match wins (the most by any Spaniard), and becomes the first man to be ranked No. 1 in three different decades
2021	0	12 (6 ATP + 6 WTA)		1 bronze	Paula Badosa becomes the first Spanish woman to win the Indian Wells Masters Garbiñe Muguruza becomes the first Spanish woman to win the WTA Finals
2022	3	15 (14 ATP + 1 WTA)		-	Rafael Nadal becomes the first man to win a 21st and 22nd Grand Slam singles title. Nadal becomes the fourth man to achieve a double Career Grand Slam in singles and the first to win multiple majors in three different decades Carlos Alcaraz wins a career-first Grand Slam title, and becomes the youngest world No. 1 and year-end No. 1 in ATP rankings history
2023	1	8 (7 ATP + 1 WTA)
2024	2	6 (5 ATP + 1 WTA)		1 silver	Carlos Alcaraz becomes the youngest man to win the Channel Slam, the youngest man to win majors on all three surfaces, and the youngest finalist in Olympic men's singles
2025	2	8 (8 ATP + 0 WTA)			Carlos Alcaraz wins two majors for a second consecutive year, becomes the youngest man to win multiple majors on all three surfaces and ends the year ranked No. 1

References

1. ansab. "El 125 aniversario del Real Club de Tenis Barcelona en 5 millones de cupones de la ONCE". www.once.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-24.
2. "Historia". www.rfet.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-24.
3. "Spanish tennis trailblazer Santana dies at 83". ESPN.com. 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
4. "French Open 2018: Why does 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal reign supreme?". BBC Sport. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
5. "Fascinating facts about Rafael Nadal's net worth, wife, world rankings, trophies". sportsbrief.com. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
6. Feinstein, John (2009-02-02). "Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams Win Australian Open". NPR. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
7. "Spanish tennis players with the most ATP titles". Puntodebreak.com. Retrieved 2024-08-07.