During his career, between 1958 and 1979, Manuel, or “Manolo” his diminutive, Santana won four Grand Slam titles, twice Roland Garros in 1961 and 1964, once the US Open in 1965 and once Wimbledon in 1966. He was then captain of the Spain team in the Davis Cup between 1980 and 1985, then between 1995 and 1999. President then honorary president of the Masters 1000 in Madrid, Manolo Santana gave his name to the central court of the Caja Magica, the tennis stadium of the Spanish capital.
The athlete had a romantic life that was also full since he had 5 children and was married 4 times. With María Fernanda González-Dopeso he had 4 children, (Manuel, Beatriz, Borja and Bárbara). The couple broke up in 1980, just before he started his life over with journalist Mila Ximénez, with whom he had a daughter, Alba. Subsequently, he was married to two other women, Otti Glanzelius and Claudia Rodriguez.