Novak Djokovic offers to give Gareth Bale lessons on backhands after seeing Welsh soccer star “ripping the forehands”

Novak Djokovic has offered to train former Welsh soccer star Gareth Bale to improve his backhand.

Djokovic and Bale recently participated in an all-star golf match at the Ryder Cup. The duo swung for Team Monty in its contest with Team Pavin. While the tennis icon was in Rome to enjoy a break from his primary hustle, the soccer star's contribution to Team Monty's win was more professional.

Bale walked away from soccer in January this year after a 17-year-long storied senior professional career and pivoted towards golf. During his prime, he represented Spanish giants Real Madrid and England's Tottenham Hotspur. Most recently, the Welshman was seen smacking some forehands on a tennis court in a video he shared on social media.

Apparently, Bale's shots have impressed Djokovic, who has been preparing for a seventh Paris Masters title of his career. The Serb sat down for a conversation with Tennis TV where he revealed that he texted Bale after seeing the video.

"I’ve seen him [Bale] ripping the forehands. I actually texted him right away as soon as I saw the video and I said, ‘You’re ripping those forehands, I really like it’," the Serb said.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion further stated that Bale needed some help with the backhand and they decided to work on the shot the next time they bump into each other.

"He was like, ‘Thanks, but I’m struggling with my backhands’. So I said I think I can help you with that. So the next time we see each other, we’re going to work on his backhand," the 36-year-old said.

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Novak Djokovic ahead of Paris Masters: "I'm quite satisfied with all these weeks of free time that I spent"

2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage Valencia

Novak Djokovic has stated that during his recent time off the court, he trained hard for the last couple of months of the 2023 season. He said during a pre-tournament press conference at the Paris Masters:

"Over the last three weeks I have practiced a lot, I have done a lot of physical preparation to make sure that I was ready for the end of the season."

The 36-year-old suggested he was happy with how he utilized the brief period.

"The work that we have done over the last month was aiming at making me more precise, more accurate, because I knew that I didn't have so much time afterwards for the end of the season. So I'm quite satisfied with all these weeks of free time that I spent."

Djokovic currently leads the all-time Paris Masters winners list with six titles under his belt. He will be looking to reign supreme in the French capital once again after losing last year's final to Denmark's Holger Rune.