When Real Madrid won Wimbledon
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When Real Madrid won Wimbledon
Manolo Santana triumphed in the men's singles at The Championships in 1966 and he did it with Los Blancos' crest on his shirt...
Long before Conchita Martínez, Rafa Nadal and Garbiñe Muguruza, Spain had another Wimbledon winner. Manolo Santana beat the American Dennis Ralston in straight sets to become men’s singles champion at SW19 in 1966 – and he did it with a Real Madrid crest on his shirt.
Santana was born in Madrid in 1938 and represented Real in their tennis section for around a decade, starting in the early 1960s. Twice a winner of Roland-Garros (in 1961 and 1964) and US Open champion in 1965, Manolo also won a gold and a silver medal in the 1968 Olympics, although tennis was only a demostration sport at the Mexico City Games.
But he is best known for his win at Wimbledon, where he beat Ralston 6-4, 11-9, 6-4 to take the title. More comfortable on clay, Santana once famously said that grass was “for cows”, but the victory in SW19 changed his life. “Wimbledon was the biggest of the four [Grand Slams],” he later said. “This is the one all the players want to win.”
Santana had skipped Roland-Garros in order to prepare for the tournament and made it all the way to the Wimbledon showpiece after coming through tough five-set matches in the last eight and again in the semi-finals.
On the morning of the final, Real Madrid director Raimundo Saporta flew to London to meet Santana. Saporta, who was president Santiago Bernabéu’s right-hand man, went straight to the tennis player’s hotel on arrival and handed the 28-year-old a piece of material with Los Blancos’ club crest on it.
Santana asked one of the hotel employees to sew the badge onto his white polo shirt and he wore it on Centre Court for the match against Ralston. “I knew I was taking a risk because at the All England Club they are strict with the protocol and they could have penalised me,” he later said. “But they must have liked how I played and they didn’t say anything.”
The World Cup was only 10 days away and football fever was about to grip England. The Three Lions went on to claim the trophy on July 30th after beating West Germany in extra time at Wembley.
By that point, Real Madrid were already six-time European champions. Los Blancos won the first five European Cups (between 1956 and 1960) and added a sixth just a few weeks before Wimbledon in 1966 after beating Partizan 2-1 in Brussels on May 11th.
That triumph had come with 11 Spanish players on the pitch. Meanwhile, Santana’s success sparked a surge in popularity for tennis in Spain and he was described as “a pioneer” by Nadal when he passsed away at the age of 83 in 2021.
“His love for the club inspired him to win Wimbledon in 1966 in the Real Madrid shirt, making him the first Spanish tennis player to win this Grand Slam,” the club said on their website after his death.
Whether it helped him or not, Santana was definitely happy to wear the crest of his beloved club and Saporta’s journey from Madrid was worthwhile as Manolo triumped in white with the Real badge on his chest in what is considered one of the earliest examples of sports marketing.
“I have been a madridista all my life,” Santana said in 2016. “I played with Real Madrid for a time and I used to train at the old training ground. I was proud to wear the crest.”
“For Manolo, Real Madrid is special,” club legend Emilio Butragueño said as he handed Santana a shirt signed by the players to mark his 80th birthday in 2018. “But for Real Madrid, Manolo is also special.”
Two-time champion Nadal is another big Madrid fan, but no player before or since Santana has won Wimbledon with a football club’s crest on their shirt. And it is unlikely to ever happen again.
When Real Madrid won Wimbledon
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