Diego Forlan, who won the Golden Ball for best player at the 2010 World Cup, retired from football in 2018 and has been playing seniors tennis in his home country; he'll partner former top-50 player Federico Coria at Uruguay Open
Tuesday 22 October 2024 11:58, UK
Former Manchester United forward Diego Forlan will make his professional tennis debut at next month's Uruguay Open.
The 45-year-old will join up with Argentine Federico Coria for the doubles event in his home country.
An announcement from the tournament organisers said: "Attention tennis and sports fans! This year at the Uruguay Open, we have an UNMISSABLE duo in doubles: Argentine tennis player Federico Coria and former Uruguayan football player Diego Forlan."
The tournament will be played at the Challenger Tour level, the second-highest professional tier. Coria has a career-high singles ranking of 49.
As a footballer, Forlan was something of a cult hero at Manchester United, memorably scoring both goals in a 2-1 win at Liverpool in December 2002. He also scored a 90th-minute winner against Chelsea a few weeks later as Sir Alex Ferguson's team won the Premier League title.
Forlan also won the FA Cup with United, as well as the Europa League and UEFA Super Cup at Atletico Madrid.
He played 112 times for Uruguay, winning the Copa America. He was also awarded the FIFA Golden Ball after being voted the best player at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
