Ronaldo could probably sit and talk to you for hours about the technique of football (what some call soccer). He knows how to succeed at the sport and he would likely make you a better player, too, just by being around him. But the sport that Ronaldo truly wants to find success in now is tennis.
In fact, the football great said at the recent Mouratoglou Annual Charity Gala on the French Riviera that his former sport bored him and he has trouble watching it now. Tennis, on the other hand, he could watch for hours and be endlessly entertained. We are just like Ronaldo as it turns out and he is just like us.
During the gala, which is a fundraiser that helps the Mouratoglou Academy which in turn helps fund the growth of young tennis players (Coco Gauff and Stefanos Tsitsipas are among the many who have been assisted by the academy), the football star spent 30,000 euros on a racket that Gauff used during her US Open finals match in 2023. She won the tournament, of course, which meant the racket was even more sentimentally valuable. Gauff autographed the racket as well.
According to Tennis Majors, Ronaldo has worked out with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who runs the academy, several times. This has only enhanced the football star’s understanding of the game, of course, which has led to more adoration for the sport. Of course, what’s not to love about tennis, right? It is the best sport on earth.
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At the gala, Ronaldo said, “I love everything (about) tennis. I think tennis more now than football. It’s unbelievable. I cannot watch whole (football) matches, I think it is too boring. Five hours watching tennis? (I can) It’s too crazy…I train three times a week. I’m very competitive, I want to get better every day. But my backhand, oh my God…I think it is the only thing Patrick (Mouratoglou) cannot fix.”
Others in attendance at the gala included model, Mary Vitinaros, former boxer Mike Tyson, and actors Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker. Over the last ten years, the academy’s annual event has raised more than five million euros. That’s good money.
