Bautista Agut Scores Twice on Seventh-Tier Football Debut
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- Roberto Bautista Agut scored twice in a 4-2 pre-season win on his debut for Spanish seventh-tier side CD Els Ibarsos, just over a month after retiring from professional tennis at age 38.
- CD Els Ibarsos, based about 60 miles north of Valencia, presented Bautista Agut to fans and said they are looking forward to watching him play for a "whole season."
- Bautista Agut previously played for Villarreal's youth teams until age 14 before switching to tennis, where he won 12 ATP singles titles and the 2019 Davis Cup with Spain.
- Bautista Agut reached a career-high world ranking of ninth in late 2019, a peak fueled by his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals that summer.
- Bautista Agut posted on Instagram: "It's a new stage of life that's making me very happy. May the good start continue!"
Why it matters: For a small seventh-tier club in Castellón province, signing a former world No. 9 with 12 ATP titles and a Davis Cup crown is a significant marketing and visibility boost, while Bautista Agut gets a competitive football outlet rooted in the youth career he left at 14 to chase tennis.
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