It wasn't that fancy in the beginning.
Spain became the "queen" of the Fed Cup in the 90s (five titles and
two finals in the 90s), but it was not always like that.
In 1972, the first time that Spain took part in the Fed Cup, it
was a player from Madrid (originally from Cuba) named Ana Maria
Estalella, who convinced the President of the Spanish Tennis
Federation (the Marques of Cabanes), to send a team to play in this
competition that was starting to have some international prestigium.
She learned that the Government of South Africa paid the trips, and, she asked to be send there too. Estalella said that they
were given 6.000 ptas (around 40 US dollars) for 25 days in
Johannesburgo. They only made
it to two small articles in two Spanish newspapers: As and Mundo
Deportivo.
In 1998, when Spain conquered her fifth Fed Cup title, there were
close to 200 journalist with the team, and Arantxa and Conchita
received more than 25 million ptas (around 165.000 US dollars) each
for the victory.
Estalella and other players from her time started the path to make
women's tennis an equal sport with men's tennis. When she used to
go to Wimbledon, the men were sent to hotels, while the Federation
used to sent the women to pensions.
Tennis as a sport for women in Spain has known a golden era with
Conchita and Arantxa. They opened a world of possibilities for lower
ranked players that never before had a chance in the WTA tour.
For those with a great memory, it won't be that hard to remember
Lili Álvarez, the first Spanish woman to reach a Wimbledon Final,
making it to three consecutive ones in the 20s. From her, and up until
Arantxa and Conchita, there is nothing but silence in women's tennis in
Spain. But there were others, like Estalella. This site is also for
all the others. The ones that gave her best for Spain but never made
it to the papers.
