With Wimbledon currently happening in London, UK we were wondering at the office which tennis player, past or present, could make a career into action sports. Instead of dropping names without giving any good reasons we decided to do some research and it soon became obvious that a couple of professional tennis players are one way or another tied up with action sports. Believe it or not. Of course they are not experts but they’ve been performing your favourite sport at some point in their life.
Roger Federer? Pete Sampras? Andre Agassi? Andy Murray? Na Li? Victoria Azarenka? None of them…
1- Rafael Nadal
When we talk about sport the Spaniards are usually handy with football, tennis and cycling. Spain’s 8 times Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal is the best tennis player on clay the world has ever seen, but he can also ride mountainbikes. Not at the level of Aaron Gwin or Gee Atherton but he regularly rides with the Specialized team.
2- Serena Williams
Currently leading the WTA championship Serena Williams had been dominating the pro tour for years, but according to the clichés below it looks like the American player is considering a possible career change into surfing… At least she’s got a motivating surf instructor who is no other than her boyfriend.
3- John McEnroe
As if John McEnroe doesn’t actually skate? We thought he will be a definitive keeper for a skateboarding career. Why? Because McEnroe is the essence of skateboarding, he’s a rebel. On another hand he also get involved in a skate shoes project with Nike SB. Gino Iannucci retooled the Nike Challenge Court sneaker (originally worn by John McEnroe), adapting the ’84 tennis original for riding the streets. No doubt, John McEnroe couldn’t be more “serious” on a skateboard.
Nike SB Challenge Court, featuring Gino Iannucci and John McEnroe a Skateboarding video by NikeSkateboarding
*BONUS*
Maria Sharapova
Just because the Russian tennis player could be the next Alana Blanchard. If only she could surf… Maybe she should check our 23 good reasons to start surfing!
