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Three Footballers You Maybe Didn’t Know Played Tennis At A Professional Level
· Posted by Staff in Articles
Do you know the background of your football icon? For example, are you aware that some of the football stars played tennis at a professional level? Read on to discover three footballers you didn’t know played tennis professionally…
Paulo Maldini
Paulo Maldini is one of the most decorated defenders in world football. The legendary defender spent trophy-laden 25 seasons with AC Milan. In that period, he played as a right-back and center-back. He even played into his 40s, making him a darling to soccer betting fans on platforms like Betway. He later retired in 2009.
After his retirement, Maldini started playing tennis competitively in 2017. Together with his trainer Stefano Landonio they qualified for the Aspira Tennis Cup, which is part of the ATP Challenger Tour. It was his first and last game after they were beaten 6-1, 6-1 in 42 minutes against Tomasz Bednarek and David Pel. After that defeat, he never played pro tennis again.
Michael Boulding
Boulding played professional tennis until the age of 22. After that, he signed for Aston Villa after retiring. However, he only played one match for Villa and later played for the lower tiers of the Football League for a while. He played with his brother (Rory) at Barnsley, Grimsby, and Mansfield.
Boulding was also a promising young tennis player who was among the top 20 British tennis players. He excelled in football and tennis at a young age but chose to pursue football after coach Tony Pickard sported him.
He was part of the international team that featured in various events globally, including in India and South America. Moreover, Boulding also played in the junior Wimbledon Championships and the main Grand Slam event qualifying matches.
In his Tennis career, he also ranked number 1119 in the ATP singles world ranking between 1999 and November 1999. He registered his highest doubles ranking was 908 in 1996.
Rangel Rangelov
Rangel Rangelov is a legendary figure in Bulgaria. He featured in two Bulgarian Cup finals in 1956 vs. Botev Plovdiv and in 1960 vs. Lokomotiv Plovdiv. He also participated in the Davis Cup in 1964 and 1967. However, in the 1964 debut, Bulgaria exited at the first time of asking.
He put in a better performance in the 1967 Davis Cups. For example, he did not drop a set across two single and double matches in a 5-0 triumph over Portugal. However, he did not cope well with Great Britain’s Mike Sangster and Roger Taylor, who won 6-2, 6-1, 6-0.
Rangel Rangenov was also a football player for Bulgaria. He played in the team that participated in the 1956 Bulgarian Cup, in which his team (Botev Plovdiv) lost to Levski Sofia.
Final Thoughts
Can you imagine Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer playing in the Champions League? How would that affect your match predictions on Betway? That would be interesting, huh? However, what we have seen from these popular footballers is that players can transfer ball skills. Who do you think will be the next player to transfer their ball skills from tennis to football or vice versa?
Soccer art by LeRoy Neiman.
ATP · Michael Boulding · Paolo Maldini · Rangel Rangelov · World Cup
