Table of Biography
Guillermo Vilas is an Argentine Former Professional Tennis Player. Guillermo Vilas set the male record in 1977 for the longest winning streak on clay courts at 57 matches. He was able to compete in his first tour event in 1969 and would achieve a top-ten ranking each year from 1974 until 1982.
Early Life and Childhood
Guillermo Vilas was born on August 17, 1952, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in Mar del Plata. He is 71 years old and is under the astrological sign, Leo. He holds Argentine nationality.
His father’s name is Jose Roque Vilas and his mother’s name is Maruxa de Vilas. And, he has one sibling and their name is Marcela Vilas. Other than this, no further information is available to us about his family life.
Similarly, information regarding his other family members such as his grandparents, cousins, and other relatives is also not known as of now.
Caption: Guillermo Vilas along with his friend (Source: International Alliance)
Education
Regarding Vilas’ educational background and qualifications, no information has come forward so far. However, considering his age and career, he must have definitely graduated from high school but we cannot be sure about his university education.
Career and Professional Life
Guillermo Vilas was a left-hander and was able to play his first tour event in the year 1968. And was in the year-ending top ten from 1974 through 1982. He also was a clay court specialist and was able to play well on hard-court, grass, and carpet surfaces. He went on to win four Grand Slam titles and they are the 1977 French Open, the 1977 US Open, and the 1978 and 1979 Australian Open.
Also, was the runner-up at the French Open three times (1975, 1978, and 1982) and at the Australian Open once (January 1977). In the year 1974, he was able to win the year-end Masters Grand Prix title. Additionally, he won seven Grand Prix Super Series titles (1975–80), the precursors to the current Masters 1000.
More About Career
His best year on tour was 1977 when he was able to win two of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments and 16 of the 31 Association of Tennis Professionals tournaments he entered. He then went on to win seven consecutive titles in the year 1977 and set up a 46-match all-surface winning streak. He even has a record of a 53-match winning streak on clay courts.
Likewise, Guillermo was able to win 16 ATP singles titles, including the French Open and the US Open. He also was the runner-up at the January edition of the Australian Open in 1977. Despite all these winnings, he was never ranked by the ATP as world No. 1 in 1977.
Sadly, this was due to the fact that the rankings at the time were based on the average of a player’s results. Instead, he was year-end world No. 2. Other than this, he did become number one by World Tennis, France Presse, Tennis de France, Le Livre d’Or du Tennis, Gene Scott, Peter Bodo, Christian Quidet, and Michael Sutter.
Moreover, Vilas retired from the ATP Tour in the year 1989. However, he still played in the ATP Challenger Series until the year 1992. He even was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991. Sadly, as he is getting old now, he is suffering from a form of dementia.
Caption: Guillermo Vilas playing the game (Source: We Are Tennis)
Controversy
An Argentine journalist, Eduardo Puppo, and a Romanian mathematician, Marian Ciulpan conducted a thorough investigation of the records from 1973 to 1978. After analyzing over 1,200 pages of data, they concluded that Vilas should have held the No. 1 ranking for five weeks in 1975 and the first two weeks of 1976.
They presented their findings to the ATP at the end of 2014. However, despite the study not being refuted, the ATP chose not to officially recognize Vilas’ No. 1 position due to it falling between the publication of the official rankings.
Furthermore, Netflix premiered a documentary, “Guillermo Vilas: Settling the Score” in October 2020. The film explores the controversy surrounding Vilas’ No. 1 ranking and also briefly mentions the retrospective recognition of Evonne Goolagong as world No. 1 by the WTA in 2007.
Achievements and Accomplishments
In 1974, 1975, and 1977, Vilas emerged victorious in the Grand Prix circuit. He was recognized as the No. 1 Tennis Player of the Year in 1977 by World Tennis Magazine, France Presse, Michel Sutter, Christian Quidet, and others. Vilas held the Open Era record for the longest winning streak on clay courts with 53 consecutive victories in 1977.
This record was later surpassed by Rafael Nadal in 2006, who extended it to 81 matches. Vilas won an impressive 62 ATP singles titles, placing him eighth highest during the Open Era.
Additionally, he reached the finals in 40 singles tournaments and won 16 doubles titles with 10 more doubles finals. In 1981, Vilas led Argentina to its first-ever Davis Cup final, although they lost to the United States.
His success on the court contributed to the growing popularity of tennis in Argentina and Latin America. Vilas’s impact was so significant that players like Guillermo Cañas and Guillermo Coria were named after him. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine recognized Vilas as the 24th greatest player of the Tennis Open Era, including both men and women.
Relationship Status
Guillermo Vilas tied the knot with his wife, Phiangphathu Khumueang in the year 2005. The couple has three daughters and one son together and their names are Andanin Vilas, Lalindao Vilas, Intila Vilas, and Guillermo Vilas Jr. Vilas along with his family now reside in Monaco.
Caption: Guillermo Vilas with his wife, Phiangphathu Khumueang (Source: Getty Images)
Guillermo Vilas – Body Measurements
Guillermo Vilas has a height of 5 feet 11 inches and his weight is 75 Kg but all other body measurements are still under review. Moreover, Vilas has green eyes and brown hair.
Social Media
Guillermo Vilas used to be very active on his social accounts. He owns his Instagram account under the name “vilasguillermook” and has garnered 54.3K followers on it. Likewise, he also has Twitter and Facebook accounts and has mustered 52.9K and 3.5K followers respectively until now.
Net Worth 2024
As per popularbio, Guillermo Vilas has a net worth of $76 million and his main income source was his career in tennis.