TennisWorthy: Ambition & the Hall of Fame’s Two-Sport Athlete

Class of 2019 Hall of Famer Yevgeny Kafelnikov is a modern Renaissance Man. His athleticism made him a tennis legend, but it also took him down other competitive avenues.

Kafelnikov’s tennis talent was evident from a young age. His father, Aleksandre, was a volleyball coach, and his mother, Valentina, was a basketball player. When a tennis coach told Aleksandre that a young Yevgeny had potential, Aleksandre was hooked.

“It kind of drove my father for the rest of his life,” Kafelnikov recently told the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “It gave him the drive to bring me to the tennis court after school. My father was a huge part in my development.”

Kafelnikov turned pro in 1992 and won his first tournament in 1994 at age 20. During an 11-year career, he won two grand slam singles titles, four grand slam doubles titles and an Olympic Gold Medal in singles. Kafelnikov also reached the world No. 1 ranking and won a Davis Cup for his native Russia.

But after leaving tennis – Kafelnikov played his last match in 2003 and officially retired in 2010 – he found careers in other competitive fields, most notably golf.

It started in 1994 when Kafelnikov was in competition in America.

“We were playing at one of the country clubs in the States when a golf course was next door,” Kafelnikov told Golfing World in 2014. “Between practice, we decided to go to the range and whack some balls. I’ve been hooked ever since. Whenever I had a chance to be on the golf course, I always was there.”

When Kafelnikov’s body could no longer take tennis, he saw golf as an avenue, not just as a hobby, but as a profession. His pinnacle golf moment came in 2011 at the Russian National Championship. With a final round of 5-under, Kafelnikov won the tournament, becoming Russia’s champion golfer of the year.

“I take my golf very seriously,” Kafelnikov said in 2011 shortly after the title. “It’s my life, it’s what I do for a living now.

“If I wasn’t an ambitious person, I would never have achieved what I did in tennis. I haven’t realized my potential in golf yet, but I’m relatively young and still fairly new to the professional game, so if I keep working hard I’m sure my results will get better and better. I feel like I should be up near the top of the leaderboard, but I have to be realistic because the standard on the Challenge Tour is very high. My first goal is obviously to make the cut, and then take it from there.”

Golf had lacked popularity in Russia, but Kafelnikov gave it a face, a familiar one at that. From 2005-2016, he played in 27 European Tour and Challenge Tour (Europe’s second-tier pro golf tour) events, including the Russian Open, Austrian Open and Czech Masters.

“Golf was an important addition into my tennis life, because there’s that everyday stress you face playing matches, practicing, things like this,” Kafelnikov told the Hall of Fame.

“To find something which is going to kind of put you off that, to refresh your mind off the court, golf was a perfect way. Even up until this day, I go regularly to golf clubs, have a casual round with my friends.

“I'm very competitive. I don't like losing to my mates who I'm playing with on the golf course. I'm always going to be a player. I'm always going to be a competitor and that's what I enjoy the most.”

Kafelnikov publicly set hopes of making the 2016 Olympics for Russia – which would have made him a two-sport Olympic athlete – but he did not get his ranking up to make the 60-player lineup (no more than 4 players could qualify per nation).

Today, Kafelnikov can be found back in Russia, possibly commentating on tennis or supporting his beloved soccer club, Spartak Moscow. He’s just 45 years old. And with his athleticism and competitive edge, Kafelnikov is always a threat to come back into the limelight. The only question is what sport will he choose next?

Jeff Eisenband is a journalist based in New York City who previously served as senior editor of ThePostGame and has contributed to the NBA 2K League, NBA Twitch, DraftKings, Cheddar, Golfweek and the Big Ten Network. He can be found on Twitter at @JeffEisenband.