Pilar Barril in Spain. No other Spanish player would reach a GS quarterfinal until Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in 1987. Pilar Barril Pilar Barril (10 October 1931 – 30 September 2011) was a female Spanish tennis player who was active during the 1950s and early 1960s. She and María Josefa de Riba were the first Spanish women to play international tennis tournaments after the World War II. She was the first Spanish lady to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open since Lilí de Álvarez. She was also a semifinalist in the 1956 mixed doubles competition. She was a pioneer, appearing regularly at
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 17-year-old, she became the youngest winner of the women's singles title at the 1989 French Open, defeating World No. 1 Steffi Graf in the final. (Monica Seles broke the record the following year when she won the title at age 16.) Sánchez Vicario quickly developed a reputation on the tour for her tenacity and refusal to concede a point. Commentator Bud Collins described her as "unceasing in determined pursuit of tennis balls, none seeming too distant to be retrieved in some manner and returned again and again to demoralize opponents" and nicknamed her the "Barcelona Bumblebee". She won six women's