FINALIST: 1992 Australian Open (with T. Woodbridge);
1991 U.S. Open (with brother, Emilio, above); 1989 French Open
(with Horacio de la Pena)


MISCELLANEOUS:

• Became sixth player, since computer rankings began in 1975, to hold the No. 1 singles ranking (on 2/6/95)
• 1995 Australian Open marked first time to be the top seed at a Grand Slam; also top seed at 1995 Roland Garros
• Forced to default quarterfinal match and withdraw from tournament at 1995 Hilton Head after severely spraining right ankle in 3rd round win over Amanda Coetzer; had never previously withdrawn from a tournament (had retired during a match at 1990 Fed Cup final--sprained the same ankle there!)
• Ended 1994 season with lead in Va Slims Bonus Pool Points becoming "Undisputed World Champion"
• In 1994, became first-ever Spanish woman to win U.S. Open; won singles and doubles titles, marking the first time since Navratilova won both in 1987
• Won eight singles titles in 1994 (more than any other player); also swept singles and doubles titles at seven of those events
• Held the record for the highest single-season earnings: $2,943,6651 (1994)
• Passed the $1 million mark in career earnings at 1990 Newport event
• In 1993, competed in 91 singles matches (won 77), the most single-season matches since Martina Navratilova played 92 in 1986
  
• Defeated Monica Seles 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in final of 1992 Canadian Open, the first time in 11 meetings
• In 1991, helped win first-ever Fed Cup title for Spain, defeating the United States in the final; also helped lead Spain to Fed Cup titles in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998
• At 1990 Hamburg, defeated Martina Navratilova in semifinals 6-1, 6-7(3-7), 6-2 for the first time in seven meetings; lost to Steffi Graf 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 in final
• Formerly the youngest French Open champion at 17 years, 6 months, dethroning Steffi Graf's 1987 youngest champion reign of eight days shy of her 18th birthday; Seles topped the record in 1990 when she won at 16 years, 6 months
• Won first professional tournament at 1988 Belgian Open, defeating Mercedes Paz, Isabel Cueto, and Raffaella Reggi (6-0, 7-5 in final)
• Upset Chris Evert 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) in third round at 1988 French Open (it seems Chrissie has still not forgiven Arantxa for that, as Chris still mentions it with some amount of bitterness at every chance she gets!)
• Married Joan Vehils on July 21, 2000 in Barcelona, Spain; later divorced
• Added a hyphen between her family names in 1998 (so that any future "children-to-be" would have all her names)

STEFFI'S NEMESIS: Successfully defended her title in Hamburg in 1994, defeating Steffi Graf 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6) in final; it was Graf's first loss of the year and ended Graf's 36-match winstreak; her win over Steffi Graf at 1994 Canadian Open ended a 48-match hardcourt winstreak for Graf (her first hardcourt loss of 1994); win over Steffi Graf at 1992 U.S. Open was third in 18 meetings, first on a hardcourt; defeat of Graf in semifinals of 1991 Roland Garros marked first time since 1984 that Graf lost a set 6-0; winning 1989 French Open ruined Steffi's chance for a second consecutive Grand Slam.

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