It’s never too late to go after your dreams. Just ask retired soccer star Diego Forlan, 45, who is set to make his professional tennis debut next month at the Uruguay Open.
The former Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Manchester United man was one of the greatest strikers of his generation when he retired from professional soccer back in 2019. The Uruguay native’s stellar career saw him claim multiple top scoring awards, including the Pichichi Trophy twice and European Golden Shoe twice, and at the 2010 World Cup he was named the best player and joint top scorer of the event.
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But Forlan has always held a love for tennis, and six years after his retirement from soccer he began competing on the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour. He has amassed a 73 percent win rate (8-3) this year, most recently reached the quarterfinals at an MT1000-level event in Lima and the final at an M400 level in Asuncion.
“I like to challenge myself in life,” he told press back in June. “This is a different sport for me, and I really enjoy the challenge of competing against very good players from different countries.
“Off the court it has been nice to meet people and to travel, these are aspects of the Tour that I enjoy a lot.”
