New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) Roberto Bautista Agut, former tennis player and 2019 Wimbledon semifinalist, has scored twice on his football debut as he looks to make his mark in a new sport. The 38-year-old netted twice for Spanish seventh-tier side CD Els Ibarsos in his team’s 4-2 win. Former Spanish tennis star Roberto Bautista Agut made a dream return to one of his childhood passions, scoring twice on his competitive football debut for seventh-tier Spanish side CD Els Ibarsos. The 38-year-old found the net twice within just three minutes during a pre-season friendly, helping Els Ibarsos secure a 4-2 victory.The club, based in the Primera FFCV region near Bautista Agut’s hometown of Benlloch, north of Valencia, provided the former ATP star with an opportunity to return to football just weeks after ending his illustrious tennis career.
From ATP tour to seventh-tier Football
Bautista Agut officially retired from professional tennis in July 2026 following a first-round defeat at Wimbledon, bringing an end to a 20-year career. The Spaniard reached a career-high ranking of World No. 9, won 12 ATP singles titles and was part of Spain’s victorious Davis Cup team in 2019. He also reached the Wimbledon semi-finals that year. Just over a month after walking away from tennis, Bautista Agut has now embarked on an entirely different sporting chapter.Bautista Agut’s football debut represents something of a homecoming. Before choosing tennis as his professional career, he was a promising footballer and spent part of his youth career with Villarreal CF, where he played until the age of 14.His decision to retire from tennis came after recognising that his body and mind were no longer suited to the demands of life on the ATP Tour.”There comes a time when your body and mind say ‘enough’,” Bautista Agut told ATPTour.com. “You have to know how to listen to yourself and step away from the Tour when the time is right. I don’t think I’m physically in the same shape as I used to be either. Given the state my body is in, I can’t cope with four or five matches a week. It’s time.”
Bautista Agut names Nadal as toughest opponent
During his tennis career, Bautista Agut spent 16 years inside the ATP Top 100 and faced some of the sport’s greatest players.Asked about his toughest opponent, the Spaniard picked compatriot and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, particularly recalling their battles on clay at Roland Garros.”Perhaps Rafa at Roland Garros,” Bautista Agut said. “His spin, the power of his shots, they’d crash into your racquet. If you didn’t hit it properly, you’d slice it because it came with so much spin. His power, his intensity, they were all special in their own way.”