MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 1, 2025

Casper Ruud

Press Conference

C. RUUD/D. Medvedev

6-3, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Casper, you are having a good tournament here in Madrid. How are you feeling after a great level and a great win today against Daniil?

CASPER RUUD: I feel, obviously I've been playing pretty good and I feel well. Eight sets played and eight sets won, so I can't ask for anything better, honestly. I've been beating some good players, and, yeah, really happy with the game today.

It was a tough match. I think Daniil played a good match, and I played a good match, so the level was pretty high. I was happy with the way I was handling his game. I never beat him before, so it was nice to get a win over him.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I was listening to your on-court interview and you said that you had, you felt like you were missing the fire a little bit recently, and that you're mentally trying to work on that. Can you try and elaborate a little bit what you are feeling when you feel that you're missing the fire, how does it manifest, and how can you work on that mentally?

CASPER RUUD: Honestly, I prefer not to go into too many details because I've had some mental, I've been kind of feeling not great mentally this year. But I've seeked help, which has really worked for me, and I've been feeling quick response and feeling a lot better, so that's really helped to have someone to talk to about certain things.

It's a tough life in many ways, and a lot of travel days, and it just got to a point where it got felt like it was getting too much. But I really seeked help, and it's been working, so I'm happy to feel more joy and feel like I'm in a better place, I guess, and feel like I'm waking up every day with a smile on my face. So I am happy that I was honest with myself and felt like I needed some help, and it's been paying off quite quickly.

If you compare it to, let's say, if you're struggling with something technical on your game, it's not this kind of easy to feel a quick response right away, it might take weeks, months, for something to feel better on court.

But mentally I'm really, felt like I'm in a better place this week than last week and the two and three weeks ago.

Q. Madrid is famous among the Spanish players for the altitude. You also play very well at sea level, but the altitude in Madrid suits your game?

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, I mean, honestly, if you look at my results here I think it's been a lot of up and down. 2021 was my second year here, I believe, or third, and I reached a semifinal also, which was a good result. But then in 2022, 2023, 2024 I struggled to win too many matches here. So I'm not sure.

The conditions make it possible for also big servers or more kind of hard court-style players to play well here because of the difficulty of breaking serve, because it is so much faster here.

I mean, you see Mensik, let's say, he's, of course, a great player no matter where or when, but he's serving like 230 every first serve. So, I mean, it's not that easy to do on clay and it's not easy to control the ball here, so if you're a bit late, let's say, it's tougher.

But this year I've been feeling well from the first match, so I hope I can keep it going for a few more matches.

Q. You may not want to talk more about this, but how difficult was it to make the decision to seek help as you said, and what ultimately made you take that decision?

CASPER RUUD: Well, I can talk briefly about it, but with certain things, whether it's, or in this life I think you have to be pretty honest with yourself when something is not working and something needs to change for the better, that's always what you're seeking.

So, even now, if I'm playing well or feeling well, I can still seek to be mentally even better or even tougher or even better at certain situations. I can always try to improve my backhand or my serve or my return, so there's always room for improvement.

But I just kind of felt a bit like I was running in a hamster wheel that never got anywhere. And just, this life and this professional tennis life is sort of like a hamster wheel that just never stops, really, I mean except for six weeks in November, December, where it's off, of course. But then you're back straight after New Years, or even this year we started 27th or 28th of December the season starts.

So you're kind of sacrificing certain personal, family time, which sometimes feels tougher than others. It just came down to me feeling like I'm running in this hamster wheel and I'm never kind of getting anywhere, or you're just stuck in it and I needed to kind of jump out of it a little to review where I was going and how I was feeling.

I guess I'm back on the hamster wheel, but with a better mentality of that it's allowed to kind of have mental struggles or mental, tougher days mentally, and tennis is not just about hitting the balls well or being quick around the court, but it's also a very, very mindful game.

Q. In your three previous matches versus Daniil Medvedev you lost all of them. It's true that is your first match since 2021, and it's your first time also on clay, but what things did you change and how did you face this match?

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, like you said, I lost three times and I lost every surface except for clay; indoor hard court, outdoor hard court, and grass. So, I mean, I was just thinking, please don't lose also on clay, because you lose on every surface to him.

But I just tried to use the conditions to my advantage, and the surface, and approached it like I approach any match, really. I mean, every match lives its own life, there will be one winner, and I was thinking, why can't it be me this time.

I have obviously practiced with Daniil throughout the years, and sometimes he ends up winning, sometimes I end up winning. So I felt like, you know, I've beaten him in practice, why not in the match. That's kind of what I said to myself.

I just tried to bring my clay game towards his game, which is a more flatter game style and a more flatter shot. So I was thinking that, over time, I hope that my clay court game or my top-spin shots will make it tough for him.

Q. If you actually look at, whether someone from your generation or close to your generation on tour, you look at Medvedev, he hasn't won a title since Rome 2023. Tsitsipas struggling, he was saying the other day he feels his shots are empty. You obviously are talking about burnout, it's actually very common on the tour, but I'm wondering, when you're in it, is it difficult for you to look around and say, Hey, this is so normal. This is how, it's normal after so many years to feel this way, are you able to have that realization now, and perhaps predict before you hit burnout next time that, I need to take a step back?

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, I don't know. I mean, you see all other players playing every week or doing full seasons, so it kind of like it forces you to do it yourself. There are obviously days and times where I wish the season was a bit shorter and that we had more time to really, really like calm down and not think about tennis for a longer period. But, I mean, we don't, the schedule is the way it is. If you end of year top 30 in the world you are looking at the following year you are mandatory to play, I think I counted 28 or 29 weeks in the following year that you are mandatory to show up, or you are kind of forced to be there.

Which, if you count the slams being two weeks, then you got eight weeks of kind of mandatory weeks for you. Seven out of nine Masters 1000s now are heading towards like a two-week tournament or, of course, one of them being one and a half.

But anyways, if you take 7 times 2, that's 14. Plus 2, 16. So you got 16, plus 8, that's 24. And then we got 5, 500s that we are mandatory to play as well. So you're looking at 29 weeks of kind of mandatory weeks that you are supposed to show up. And if you don't, I mean, the punishments are quite harsh.

So there are some things that I think players start to feel that it's getting a bit too much. I can't speak for everyone, but for myself, I've definitely felt it.

Also when it comes to the game itself, I think that I haven't really thought so much about it, because I'm not a guy to think too much about balls, but it is always a big discussion about balls.

I talked with a former player the other day, a very experienced player, who said that, For me, since I came on tour, which was early 2000s, my game was working really well, but towards the end of my career it wasn't working as well, and I really felt like the ball changed during COVID.

So players are, because I was talking to him trying to seek advice on certain things like, you know, I feel like the players are handling my heavy shots like way better now than when I kind of came on tour, which was pre-COVID, and they're able to just step in and rip the damn thing back, and I'm kind of surprised how well people do it.

And he responded, Well, for me I felt exactly the same at the end of my career, and I personally believe it's the balls. And I really never thought about that. He said that the balls are kind of easier to go at these days. Before they were more lively and they were more bouncy, and now they're kind of all the same pressure, pressurized.

So, it's good for commercial things, because you probably see more rallies and stuff. But I guess the new young generation who kind of came up after COVID are used to it. And if you look at the majority of the players who are young and good players already these days, they really rip the ball from both sides, I mean, there's no really holding back. And that's great, if they're able to put the ball in aggressively, why not.

But I do feel like there's been a real change in tempo because even when I play on clay, if I play like somewhat of a short shot, before I felt like, Okay, I will, the opponent's not going to rip the ball back. But these days it's like I don't feel like I can do one slight little mistake, or hit one ball a little short before the opponent just goes full power and comes to the net or goes for a winner.

So it has changed and, yeah, now I'm just talking too much, so it's better to stop, I think (laughing).

Q. Your fame is to be a calm player and well mannered in court. Do you think we appreciate that or you have to become an influencer and jump on the court and be more, you know? Because that's something that we appreciate that you stay calm in hard situations.

CASPER RUUD: Well, thank you. I mean, it's good with players both sides of the spectrum, I guess, to have loud players and, I wouldn't call go so far and call them influencers, but who are really kind of, yeah, I guess in a way influential on young players.

You have kind of me and some other players who are more on the kind of calm side of the spectrum. So I just realized that I'm this way because I'm just so focused on what I try to do on court, and I don't like to think too much about the fact, or, like, the crowd, or trying to kind of forcefully entertain people. I just try to do my work, and if people want to show up and watch me, that's great, and I'm very appreciative of it.

I know that sport is also an entertainment side and business, but I think that it's, personally, I find it more fun when players and athletes they do their best at their job and whatever they do, whatever they might do. I never really thought too much about being an entertainer, I just thought about being a tennis player and do as best as I can for as long as I'm here. And that's kind of, I feel like I play the best when I'm calm.

Q. That's obviously a consensus around the belief that the season's too long, and there's also a lot of talk about balls, as you said. And at the same time there's a lot of disruption behind the scenes obviously, whether it's the PTPA thing, or even just like the letter that top players sent to slams. I'm curious, as a player, do you feel like, do you think things, like what do you think it would take for things to change, or is it quite bleak, you know, and that you feel stuck in a way?

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, it's been a lot of talks in the last couple years about finding a solution, restructuring certain things in the tennis world. And it has happened in the past, certain tournaments have been downgraded, some tournaments have tremendous amount of history, some tournaments are newer.

I think it's good we change, but the main kind of objective for players is to try to be heard a little more, and not feel like we're just kind of pieces in the puzzle that tournaments can kind of use as they please, in a way. Not saying that they have that mentality about us, but I'm just saying that sometimes the players feel like we are not necessarily heard about everything, or certain complaints.

But let's see what the future brings. I think tennis is globally an incredible sport, because we play everywhere in the world, and fans around the world are entertained, and I hope to keep it that way. And, of course, I know that there will be a lot of travel hopefully for me in the future if my career continues to go well, so I'm ready for it.

But if you compare it to other sports we do have one of the longest seasons there is, and also some of the longest travels also. You do get a bit tired of checking in, packing your bag in and out, new bed, new hotel room, new breakfast buffet. I mean, it's kind of like luxury problems it probably sounds like, but it does get a little boring (laughing) at some point.

But I am excited for what the future holds, and I think players doing certain things or sending a letter or showing that they want kind of in and talk to tournaments and organizations is a good thing, and that we can come to certain agreements together. And, yeah, I'm hopeful that tennis will continue to be in a good place and grow and develop, so I'm hopeful for the future.