After Casper Ruud's surprising exit in the 2nd round of the French Open, the Norwegian criticizes the ATP system. This would force players to take part in tournaments injured or ill.
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- Casper Ruud is surprisingly eliminated in round two at the French Open and then criticizes the ATP system as a "rat race" that forces players to take part in tournaments despite injuries.
- In particular, the Norwegian criticizes the strict penalties for non-participation in compulsory tournaments, such as loss of points and a 25% reduction in the year-end bonus.
- Ruud is calling for more flexibility and fairness in the tournament calendar, as the current rules are detrimental to both players and fans when injured stars have to play.
Casper Ruud was surprisingly eliminated in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday. The two-time Paris finalist lost to the Portuguese Nuno Borges in four sets (6:2, 4:6, 1:6, 0:6). This meant that one of the favorites had to bury his hopes of winning the title early on.
Ruud won 12 of his 13 tournament victories on the ATP Tour on clay, five of them in Switzerland. He won in Geneva in 2021, 2022 and 2024 as well as in Gstaad in 2021 and 2022. This year, Ruud celebrated his biggest tournament success to date by winning the Masters in Madrid.
In his match against Borges, Ruud was clearly struggling with knee problems and had no chance in the last two sets.
Much to lose
At the press conference, the world number 8 attacked the ATP, which organizes most of the professional men's tournaments. The Grand Slam tournaments and the Davis Cup, on the other hand, are organized by the ITF.
"It's like a 'rat race' when it comes to the rankings. You feel obliged to play according to certain rules that the ATP has set up, with the mandatory events. And you feel like you lose a lot if you don't show up and play - both economically and in terms of points, rankings and chances," says Ruud.
The Norwegian continued: "If my leg is broken, of course I can't play. But it's definitely difficult, especially when you don't have the option of skipping mandatory events - because the penalties are pretty harsh. Both in terms of everyone else playing and getting points - and you don't."
Bonus cut by a quarter
"There is also a certain bonus system that is reduced if you don't show up for the mandatory events. It's a questionable system, because on the one hand you don't want to turn up injured, and on the other hand you might give your place to someone else," the 26-year-old points out.
"If you don't take part in a mandatory event, your end-of-year bonus is cut by 25 percent. So in a way, players are being forced to turn up injured or ill or whatever - I don't think that's particularly fair," summarizes Ruud, who is otherwise considered a calm and level-headed contemporary.
For tennis players on the ATP Tour, the four Grand Slam tournaments and eight of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments are compulsory events (exception: Monaco).
Dimitrov with a sad debut
In Paris, Ruud has reached the final twice and the semi-final once in the last three years. After losing to Rafael Nadal (2022) and Novak Djokovic (2023) in the final, he was stopped by Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals last year, meaning the world number eight will lose a lot of points.
Even if there was certainly a lot of frustration in Ruud's criticism, those responsible should take the public scolding seriously. On the one hand, injured tennis stars are a nuisance for the players, and on the other for the spectators. At the French Open, for example, Grigor Dimitrov had to retire from a Grand Slam tournament for the fourth time in a row - a (negative) record.
