Diego Forlan suffers heavy loss in professional debut in Montevideo

The 45-year-old former Uruguayan footballer, who retired five years ago, was given a baptism of fire on his first professional doubles outing

Diego Forlan, Montevideo Challenger, 2024 © Matilde Campodonico/AP/SIPA

Lucas Morlier

November 14, 2024

It was a small Challenger event in Uruguay this week, Diego Forlan – a former football legend who has been retired for five years – made his professional tennis debut.

At 45 years old, the former World Cup semi-finalist received an invitation to participate in the doubles at the Montevideo Challenger tournament in his native Uruguay.

In front of a full stadium, as he was used to in his footballing days at Atletico Madrid and Manchester United, Forlan was endured a difficult start to professional tennis life. Partnered with Federico Coria (101st in the world in singles, 413th in doubles), he was not fully up to the task, despite a few well-placed shots.

The Argentinian-Uruguayan pair lost heavily in two sets (6-1, 6-2) in just 47 minutes of play against Bolivia’s Boris Arias and Federico Zeballos (who currently have a doubles ranking of 109th).

Despite the loss, Forlan enjoyed the moment.

“I had a lot of fun. I knew there was a possibility that it would be a difficult match for us but I was happy. It’s not easy at all,” the Uruguayan said.

It remains to be seen if this setback will make him want to try his luck on the professional circuit again.