It is fascinating to find out that the two distant worlds of tennis and horse racing are actually quite related. Even though we are talking about two sports that don’t have much in common, apart from the grass terrain, there are still some tennis players who share a passion for horse racing.
And why wouldn’t they?
After all, horse racing is one of the oldest sports in the world that stood the test of time and managed to keep its prestigious and elite factor, similar to tennis.
And what would be a perfectly relaxing day where successful tennis players can get their adrenaline pumping, do some networking with other high-class individuals and possibly place some bets?
Of course, horse racing.
So, before you go browsing for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup betting odds, let’s take a look at some of the popular tennis players who share a passion for equestrian sports.
Andy Murray
The once No.1 tennis player in the world has a wild equestrian spirit and loves horse racing. As you probably already know, Andy Murray has won three Grand Slam singles, one at the US Open and two at Wimbledon.
But being from Great Britain, which most people consider to be the birthplace of horse racing, Andy Murray also shares a passion for horse racing. Great Britain is a country where you can find a horse racing event every day of the week, and this probably got under his skin.
He has seen multiple times attending big horse racing events like the Cheltenham Festival. But where did this passion come from?
Well, we don’t know what Andy Murray got interested in but we have a theory.
Andy Murray is a good friend of Sir Alex Ferguson, who we know is quite into horse racing. Maybe this friendship got him interested in the sport too!
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis might be retired from professional tennis, but we decided to include her on the list since she is a legend of the sport. She has three Grand Slam singles wins and achieved the highest ranking of No.1 in 1997.
Now that she is retired, she probably has more free time for her hobbies, which include horse racing.
Most people don’t know that Hingis actually grew up in a saddle, and was around horses since early childhood. Her passion for horses got to a point where she decided to purchase a stable.
This is one of the rare examples where a tennis player has become a horse owner. Hingis also loves riding horses, and she claims that this helped her overcome the stress and pressure of big tennis tournaments.
Roberto Bautista Agut
Even though Bautista has never reached a better rank than No.9, he was definitely one of the most feared opponents during his prime. Throughout his professional career, he managed to earn more than $16 million only in tournament prize money.
His biggest achievement was winning the Dubai Tennis Championship back in 2018.
But Roberto Bautista also has a vibrant equestrian spirit. He is in love with horses and horse racing.
During his professional career, he started to get interested in horse racing which later became his hobby. This beloved pastime activity grew to the point where he decided to invest in horses.
Bautista now owns seven horses and says that this past-time activity is one of the reasons he achieved such success in tennis.
His passion for horses runs in the family. However, it seems like being around horses brought a lot of unwanted things to his family.
First of all, his father became quadriplegic after a horse incident, and this year, Bautista was also injured while working at his family’s stables in Castellon, but fortunately, nothing too serious.
John Millman
Here we have another name from the professional tennis scene that also shares a passion for horse racing. Millman’s highest ranking position was No.33 in 2018, although since then he probably spent more time around horses than playing tennis since he dropped to No.239.
Being from Australia, where horse racing can be found on every corner, John Millman has developed a deep passion for the sport.
Just like the other two tennis players we mentioned, John Millman also became a racehorse owner. His passion for the sport comes from his family, and after getting some success in the world of tennis, he decided to spend his prize money on becoming a part-owner of a number of horses.
However, John Millman isn’t an average athlete who invests in horse racing and only wants to see a return. He is actually involved in the sport choosing trainers, which races to participate in, as well as jockeys.