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Former No. 1 tennis player Arantxa Sánchez Vicario guilty of fraud, but will avoid prison

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - U.S. Open - Flushing Meadows, New York, United States - September 10, 2022 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario U.S. Open former champion is seen in the stands REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

Four-time Grand Slam singles winner Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and her ex-husband were found guilty of fraud, a Spanish court ruled Wednesday.

The court said that Sánchez Vicario and her former husband, Josep Santacana, who divorced in 2019, hid assets in an attempt to avoid paying massive debts owed to the Banque de Luxembourg.

Sánchez Vicario was sentenced to two years in prison, but that sentence was waived because she is a first-time offender and is contingent on her paying back her debts to the bank.

Santacana was given a three-year-and-three-months sentence. The couple must also pay a fine of $7.1 million.

Sánchez Vicario, 52, who spent 12 weeks as a No. 1 player, won three French Open singles titles and a U.S. Open championship before retiring in 2002.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, 4-time tennis major winner, guilty of fraud