List of all tennis players who switched to other sports

Pickleball and padel are extremely similar to tennis and require less physical effort, making the transition easier.

Tennis is a very physically demanding sport. Years of sprinting, twisting, and serving at full stretch chip away at knees, shoulders, and wrists long before most players are ready to stop competing.

That’s a big reason why, once the ATP or WTA grind ends, so many players don’t just retire quietly but instead pivot into something gentler on the joints but still scratch that competitive itch.

Pickleball and padel fit that bill perfectly. Smaller courts, shorter points, less running, with pickleball, in particular, being far less strenuous on the body and not demanding nearly the same financial backing that tennis does. Padel works on similar logic, as it’s social, fast, and forgiving in a way a five-set match never is.

Golf and football sit at the other end, demanding a completely different skill set, but for a rare few, the pull of a childhood sporting love proved just as strong as tennis itself. Here’s a look at some of the biggest names who made that jump.

Tennis players who switched to other sports

Jack Sock, Sam Querrey – Pickleball

Jack Sock was one of the most gifted doubles players of his generation, winning Wimbledon twice, the US Open, and an Olympic gold in mixed doubles before hanging up his racket in his early thirties. He didn’t waste time adjusting as he won a mixed doubles title on his very first pickleball outing.

Sam Querrey, a former World No. 11 with a Wimbledon semifinal to his name, has had a bumpier transition, making his PPA Tour doubles debut only in 2024 and still finding his footing against players who came up through pickleball from the start.

Althea Gibson – Golf

Long before any of this was a trend, Althea Gibson did it first, and that too with far less support. After retiring from tennis in 1958, having won eleven Grand Slam titles, she became the first African-American member of the LPGA in 1963. Golf was never kind to her the way tennis had been.

She was barred from clubhouses and forced to change in her car at several country clubs, and despite playing 171 events over fourteen years, she never won on tour, coming closest with a runner-up finish in 1970.

Marta Marrero, David Nalbandian, Roberta Vinci – Padel

Marta Marrero’s tennis career peaked at World No. 47 with a French Open quarterfinal run. However, she found far bigger success after switching to padel in 2013, eventually reaching World No. 1.

Her aggressive, net-hungry style translated almost seamlessly — the instincts she built on a tennis court just found a new home.

David Nalbandian, the 2002 Wimbledon finalist and former World No. 3, has taken up padel more as a passion project than as a second career, regularly appearing in exhibition events alongside other former tour stars.

Meanwhile, Roberta Vinci made her switch official in 2022, four years after retiring from tennis. She reached a padel ranking of World No. 66 in her debut season, proving that a one-handed backhand and sharp net instincts find a way to work even on new surfaces.

Dominic Thiem – Football

This one’s the freshest and most unexpected of the lot. Dominic Thiem, a US Open champion and former World No. 3, only retired from tennis in October 2024. Now, less than two years later, he’s registered as a footballer with Badener AC, a club playing in Austria’s eighth division.

Football has always held personal meaning for Thiem, as he grew up loving the game and had already played informally for his hometown club before joining Badener AC.

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