Vroom, vroom! Casper Ruud and Joao Sousa hit the track in Estoril

FLASHBACK: Last summer, Ruud beat Sousa to win the title in Gstaad, Switzerland.

They've got the need for speed: Ahead of the start of the Millennium Estoril Open, Casper Ruud and Joao Sousa traded their tennis shoes for racing suits.

The pair got behind the wheel and hit the racetrack with António Félix da Costa, one of Portugal's top racing drivers, Sunday as part of an immersive experience offered by Porsche, which has been a tournament activation for players in recent years. (Félix da Costa is a member of the Porsche Formula E Team.)

For sports fans in Portugal, tennis and motor racing are a perfect match, as Estoril, a tourist destination located 20 miles outside of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, is known just as much for fast cars as it is for fuzzy yellow balls.

The city's history in motor racing dates back to the 1930s, and the Circuito do Estoril was home to a Formula One event from 1984 to 1996. The ATP Tour's flagship event in the country moved to Estoril in 2015 after being played for more than 20 years in nearby Oeiras.

After taking their laps, there was no lazy Sunday on the cards for either player.

Shortly after their morning at the track, Ruud headed to the practice courts for a training session with 2021 Estoril champion Albert Ramos-Vinolas, while Sousa was spotted hitting with Argentine Pedro Cachin.

Yet to win back-to-back matches in 2023, Ruud hopes to get his season back on track as the tour's calendar shifts to his beloved terre battue; he's the top seed at the ATP 250 event, and is joined there by players including Hubert Hurkacz, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Ben Shelton. Argentine Sebastian Baez, seeded No. 5, is the defending champion.

Ruud and Sousa, who's only won one tour-level match this year, will both hope for a fast start to the clay-court season in Estoril. But only one will get it.

After a bye, Ruud will face the winner of the first-round match between Sousa, a wild card, and Italian Giulio Zeppieri. Sousa famously became the first Portuguese player to win his home event in 2018.