Over a glorious quarter of a century he starred for AC Milan on the football pitch, now at 48 years of age Paolo Maldini has qualified for a professional tennis tournament in Milan.
Maldini, now working as a director at Miami FC, qualified by wild card in the doubles draw in the weekend long Aspria Tennis Cup, part of the ATP challenger circuit, the level below the ATP.
“He’s got a good service, he doesn’t have a speciality shot but he has no weak points either,” his partner and coach Stefano Landonio told local media. The 45-year-old Landonio is a former tennis pro whose career peaked in the 975th place in the ATP singles ranking, back in 1996.
“He’s also improving his volleys and while he may not be catching the eye in any particular part of his game, he does not have any weaknesses either,” Landonio added. “Since he only started playing five or six years ago, there are some deficits in terms of technique. If he’d started working on his technique earlier, then who knows?”
Maldini won 26 trophies with AC Milan including five Champions League titles before finally hanging up his boots in 2009 aged 41. He also played 126 times for Italy.