(CNN) – Former Manchester United and Atlético Madrid forward Diego Forlán will make his professional tennis debut in November, when he competes in an ATP doubles tournament in his native Uruguay.
The 45-year-old, who retired from football in 2019, will play alongside world number 101 in men’s singles, Federico Coria, at the Uruguay Open, which will be held between November 11 and 17.
The tournament, which was once won by former US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro, is part of the ATP Challenger Tour, the second level of tennis competition.
Forlán enjoyed an excellent football career, winning the Premier League, Copa América and Europa League, among other trophies, during his 22 years as a professional.
He was also named best player at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, after becoming top scorer, and won the European Golden Boot awarded to the top scorer in the continent’s main leagues on two occasions.
After starting to compete in tennis tournaments last year, the Uruguayan has recently competed in ITF Masters tournaments in the over-45 category, in which he is ranked 108th in the world.
“He has been preparing for a while, training a lot in tennis,” declared the director of the Uruguay Open tournament, Diego López, to the Tenistas Sin Serque podcast. “I think he deserves this opportunity.”
He is not the only soccer star who has changed the field of play for the field. Italian legend Paolo Maldini played a doubles match on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2017 after a football career in which he won five Champions Leagues and seven Serie A titles.
However, Maldini was not as successful with the racket as he was with the ball at his feet, and lost the match 6-1, 6-1.
Rangel Rangelov is the player who has achieved the most success in both sports, having played in two Bulgarian Cup finals in football and two Davis Cups between 1956 and 1967.
