ROLAND GARROS

May 28, 2025

Casper Ruud

Press Conference

N. BORGES/C. Ruud

2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Casper, tough match. Can you explain us what happened.

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, thank you.

It's hopefully nothing too serious. For the last couple of weeks I've been kind of struggling a little bit with knee pain on and off. That's why I decided to pull out of Geneva after Rome, do my best, and heal to be ready here.

When you're practicing, leading up to the tournament, it's easier to avoid certain movements that are painful. It's not painful. Everything is not painful. But certain movements out there are kind of what makes it painful. Certain shots are painful to do.

When you're playing matches, you can't really control it in the same way. You do everything you can to get to every ball. Sometimes you kind of forget that this is a shot I shouldn't go for maybe in terms of pain in the knee. That's pretty much all.

It's been okay in practice because, like I said, I'm able to control it a bit more. When you play a match, you go full on, no matter what happens. I don't want to take anything away from Nuno, because I think he played a phenomenal match, a really high level.

A few shots out there are a bit painful for me to do. Other than that, it's kind of everything, it's not more than this.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You said hopefully it's not too serious. Have you had any sort of scan in the last week or so, or do you intend to have a scan?

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, I have had a scan. I had a scan during Madrid actually, in the beginning of the tournament. I felt it the first time in Monte-Carlo. So it's been with me actually the whole clay season on and off.

Depending a little bit on how kind of physically tough some matches are, the day after it will either be a bit more sore or not.

The scan didn't know show any structural damage, which is a good thing. There's liquid of inflammation in there that needs to settle. As we know, it's a hectic clay season, and I decided to kind of push through it doing some antiinflammatory pills and painkillers to try to get rid of it, which has helped to a certain degree but not enough.

I will have some more time now to let it heal and rest for a long time.

Q. What was the particular moment today where it felt worse? Also, did you give consideration to stopping playing today? If not, why not?

CASPER RUUD: I actually felt it quite early in the first set. I can tell you like one of the shots that hurts the most is to do, like, sliding on the left foot, an open-stance backhand is what hurts the most, as it's the left knee.

It's very, very specific. But when you rotate my foot inward, it also hurts a little on the left. That's kind of the worst shot for me and has been for a few weeks. I've tried not to show the opponents that it is.

Like I said, I've been avoiding that shot in practice for as much as I can. It's been feeling pretty good. But then today, when you're playing a match, you're playing a slam, you go for everything and you kind of forget about all this stuff.

I felt it immediately on the first one. It kind of came back. It didn't get any better. But I'm able to hit other shots and other movements. It's okay. But it's just kind of a bad feeling that it doesn't go away.

Of course, I think the first two sets was great level. I played well in the first and also in the second. But Nuno also played really well. Towards the third and fourth, it was not getting better. I tried to take more antiinflammatory pills, but it didn't seem to really help very much.

Q. And considering the idea of stopping?

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, when you're out there, of course it's a slam, I love this tournament. Looking back, I tried my best to continue. I mean, just try to avoid the shots that are hurting.

But towards the end, there were also other movements that started hurting, so it wasn't ideal. I asked for the physio after the third set, hoping he could maybe make a change. Then quickly was Love-4 down in the fourth. I was thinking anyways, might as well finish, we're two games away.

Kind of that was my thoughts out there.

Q. How do you see your game? You had some great wins over the last couple of months, difficult defeats, then the injury today. How do you look back where you're at right now?

CASPER RUUD: All in all, looking back, it's been some ups and downs, some really high ups. I reached some of the goals that I set for the clay season. Today with this result here in Paris is not what I hoped for.

As this part of the clay season comes to an end, I'm proud of some of the results or most of the results that I did. Over the course of my career, I've been pretty fortunate and lucky with certain injuries. I hope and think this is not the most serious thing.

When it comes to also feeling pain in big matches, I've never really dealt with that. I've been fortunate in this way. Also, like I said, I also would like to give credit to Nuno because he played well, or very, very well.

I'm proud of myself for how I've been able to deal with it. Today I just had to kind of not give in, but I wasn't able to fight through it.

Q. Might you skip the grass now?

CASPER RUUD: We'll see. I'll go home and do some more scans as soon as possible and see if there's anything that has changed.

But between Rome and here, I took five days completely off at home. It wasn't enough to make the pain go away. I definitely think that I would need more than five days off, then take a status in a week or two, see where I'm at.

I wish I could stay here longer. It leaves more time, of course, to recover for upcoming tournaments.

Q. You obviously are disappointed. After last year when you got sick, do you feel like, not that you're cursed, but it's just extra disappointing?

CASPER RUUD: Not really. Yes, of course, I wish, like I said, I could stay longer. This is the slam where I feel like I have a bigger chance of doing well. But that doesn't mean that other players don't play well here either.

I think if you look at the level today until, let's say, the last set or whatever, I think Nuno showed that he's a great player on this surface. He handled my shots really well. I tried my best to play as heavy as I can. He just stood there, took everything on the rise, flat, low, deep.

Even though I seem to think it, topspin shots on clay is not the only way to play on this surface. It's anyone's game. Certainly there are favorites to do well here. I think we'll see some interesting results in the days to come.

Q. How tough do you feel it is these days on tour to feel okay with taking three or four weeks to fully heal an injury? Is the guilt of not playing bigger than, I need that time. Like you played on painkillers for the whole clay season. Was there a point, I should not play, but I have to, I want to?

CASPER RUUD: Well, it's kind of like a rat race when it comes to the rankings, as well. You feel you're obligated to play with certain rules that the ATP have set up with the mandatory events. You feel like you lose a lot if you don't show up and play, both economically, point-wise, ranking-wise and opportunity-wise.

For me I know these weeks and months are really important for the remaining of the year and for my career. Of course, if my leg is broken, I won't play.

But it's tough anyways, especially when there's a time with mandatory events to skip them because the punishments are quite hard, in terms of everyone else will play, gain points, and you won't. Also there's a certain bonus system set up that is reduced if you don't show up to the mandatory events.

It's a questionable system because on one hand you don't want to show up injured, and you maybe give the spot to other one. I'm not sure if you're aware, but if you don't play a mandatory event, they cut 25% of your year-end bonus. You're kind of forcing players to show up injured or sick, or whatever, when that is not what I think is very fair.

Anyways it's been deal-able, like I said. I've been able to deal with the pain. It hasn't been too bad. Some days worse than others.

I'm just looking forward to not being on some painkillers for some days now (smiling). Let it really heal and rest and see where I'm at in a few weeks.