Hispanic tennis players rank among some of the greatest players the sport has ever known. From the Spaniard Rafael Nadal and the Argentine Guillermo Vilas on the men’s side, to the Argentine Gabriela Sabatini on the women’s side, these are players at the forefront of tennis history.

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s do our best here to rank the 10 greatest of all time.

Which Hispanic tennis player has the most Grand Slam event titles?

Rafael Nadal has won the most Grand Slam events of any Hispanic player with 22. Guillermo Vilas is in second place with four.

Who is the best Hispanic tennis player right now?

The best active Hispanic tennis player right now is Rafael Nadal, although he looks to be on the cusp of retirement. The best player still in their prime is Garbine Muguruza, and hopefully she can recapture her wonderful form from around 2017.

Famous Hispanic Tennis Players

Rafael Nadal is the most famous Hispanic tennis player of all time, but Argentina’s Guillermo Vilas has a claim to that title as well.

Honorable Mentions

Some players just missed the cut for this list and deserve honorable mentions here. That group includes Spain’s David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Nicolas Almagro, and Fernando Verdasco, as well as Marcelo Rios of Chile.

Ranking the Top 10 Most Influential Hispanic Tennis Players in History

10. Gaston Gaudio
    

Nationality: Argentina
Birthdate: Dec. 9, 1978
Career Span: 1996 to 2011
ATP Titles: 8
Grand Slam Event Titles: 1
Highest World Ranking: No. 5

Former Argentine tennis player Gaston Gaudio struggled to make it past the fourth round of any Grand Slam event from 1999 to 2003, routinely getting bounced early in such tournaments. Then the 2004 French Open happened, where the unranked Gaudio went on a historic run.

He avoided many of that year’s high seeds until the Roland Garros final when he met world No. 3 (and fellow Argentine) Guillermo Coria. Coria easily went ahead 6-0, 6-3, but a resilient Gaudio battled back and captured his first and only Grand Slam event title. He never again reached the quarterfinals at a major.

9. Andres Gomez

Nationality: Ecuador
Birthdate: Feb. 27, 1960
Career Span: 1979 to 1995
ATP Titles: 21
Grand Slam Event Titles: 1
Highest World Ranking: No. 4

Former Ecuadorian tennis star Andres Gomez had a slightly different career arc than Gaston Gaudio. Gomez had made five Grand Slam quarterfinals by the age of 30 in 1990, but he could never get any deeper. He was a two-time champion on the doubles scene and clearly was a very talented player.

Gomez absolutely dominated the 1990 French Open, dropping just three sets overall as he cruised to his first major victory. The win meant a lot:

“Even now people still remember that victory and it’s one of the biggest or maybe the biggest win in Ecuadorian sports history -- it’s definitely up there,” said Raul Viver, a former top-100 player from Ecuador and a friend of Gomez.

8. Garbine Muguruza

Nationality: Venezuela and Spain (dual citizen)
Birthdate: Oct. 8, 1993
Career Span: 2012 to present
WTA Titles: 10
Grand Slam Event Titles: 2
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 

Garbine Muguruza was born in Venezuela but represents Spain professionally. She is currently ranked 208th in the world due to a recent hiatus. Still just 30 years old, she has already achieved a lot – having won her first Grand Slam event at the 2016 French Open and following that up with the 2017 Wimbledon title.

Muguruza made her last major final at the 2020 Australian Open. It will be interesting to see if she manages to kickstart her career in 2024.

7. Juan Martin del Potro

Nationality: Argentina
Born: Sept. 23, 1988
Career Span: 2005 to present
ATP Titles: 22
Grand Slam Event Titles: 1
Highest World Ranking: No. 3

Argentine tennis player Juan Martin del Potro has had an incredible career -- winning 22 ATP titles and ranking as high as No. 3 in the world during a highly competitive era. However, most fans remember his career for one moment: pulling off a shocking comeback against Roger Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final.

Federer had won five straight U.S. Open titles heading into the 2009 final and had a 2-1 lead in sets over the Argentine. Del Potro remarkably rallied and captured his first Grand Slam in five sets.

Wrist injuries have slowed del Potro down in recent years and forced him to miss the 2023 U.S. Open.

6. Pancho Segura

Nationality: Ecuador
Born: June 20, 1921
Career Span: 1941 to 1970
ATP Titles: 66
Professional Major Titles: 4
Highest World Ranking: No. 1

Former world No. 1 Pancho Segura was a major star in both the amateur and professional tennis scenes of the 1940s and 1950s. He dominated the Latin American tennis scene before moving to the United States in 1940. He won three straight “U.S. Pro” titles from 1950 to 1952.

Segura did compete on the Grand Slam scene in the early 1940s but never it to made a final, losing in the semis on four occasions. He is still one of the best Latino tennis players of all time.

5. Alex Olmedo

Nationality: Peru
Birthdate: March 24, 1936
Career Span: 1951 to 1972
ATP Titles: 21
Grand Slam Event Titles: 2
Highest World Ranking: No. 2 

Former Peruvian world No. 2 Alex Olmedo was one of the first great Hispanic male tennis players. While he eventually played for the U.S. at the Davis Cup, Olmedo represented Peru in most competitions.

He played in three Grand Slam event finals, all against Australians. He defeated Neale Fraser at the 1959 Australian Championships (which became the Australian Open) and Rod Laver at Wimbledon later that year, enabling him to jump to his No. 2 ranking. He almost claimed an impressive three Grand Slam event titles in one year, but fell to Fraser at the 1959 U.S. Open.

Olmedo’s inclusion on the Davis Squad team was a flashbulb moment for American tennis.

4. Gabriela Sabatini

Nationality: Argentina
Birthdate: May 16, 1970
Career Span: 1985 to 1996
WTA Titles: 27
Grand Slam Event Titles: 1
Highest World Ranking: No. 33 

Gabriela Sabatini is unlucky to have won only one title at a Grand Slam event. The Argentine burst onto the scene at the age of 15 to make her first major semifinal. Before she turned 20, midway through the 1990 season, Sabatini had already made a staggering seven Grand Slam event semifinals.

The Argentine finally got over the hump at the 1990 U.S. Open, defeating her doubles partner and world No. 1 Steffi Graf in a final that is considered one of the most shocking victories of all time.

3. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

Nationality: Spain
Birthdate: Dec. 18, 1971
Career Span: 1985 to 2002
WTA Titles: 29
Grand Slam Event Titles: 4
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 

Former world No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was among the best women’s tennis players for the better part of a decade. She made the quarterfinals or better at the French Open in every year but one from 1987 to 2000, winning three Roland Garros titles (1991, 1995, 1996) and making three other finals. She also captured the U.S. Open in 1994.

The Spanish-born Sanchez Vicario also won six women’s doubles and four mixed doubles championships at Grand Slam events. She is the best Hispanic female tennis player of all time.

2. Guillermo Vilas

Nationality: Argentina
Birthdate: Aug. 17, 1952
Career Span: 1969 to 1992
ATP Titles: 62
Grand Slam Event Titles: 4
Highest World Ranking: No. 2

Former world No. 2 Guillermo Vilas was one of the first clay-court specialists of the Open Era. He once held a 53-match winning streak on clay, the second longest of all time (unsurprisingly, Rafael Nadal holds the longest).

Vilas probably should have been ranked No. 1 in 1977 or 1978. The Argentine won both the French and U.S. Open singles titles and made the final in Australia. He captured the 1978 Australian Open title and made it to the final at that year’s French Open. Overall, he finished his career with an impressive four Grand Slam event titles -- tied for the second-most on this list and the most of any South American.

Vilas is one of the best Hispanic male tennis players of all time.

1. Rafael Nadal

Nationality: Spain
Birthdate: June 3, 1986
Career: 2003 to present
ATP Titles: 92
Grand Slam Event Titles: 22
Highest World Ranking: No. 1

Spain’s Rafael Nadal was always going to end up in this spot as the best Hispanic tennis player of all time. The clay-court king has more Grand Slam event titles than everyone else on this list combined, tallying an incredible 22 (and counting) over the course of his storied career.

Nadal has more French Open titles than anyone, winning a stunning 14, including nine out of 10 from 2005 to 2014. He is certainly also the best Spanish tennis player of all time.

Parameters of Rankings

Rankings are based on each player’s career achievements, each player’s career longevity, and each player’s overall impact on the sport. Note: this is not a list of “Hispanic American tennis players,” but rather those who come from countries where Spanish is the primary language.

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