Exclusive: The moment Ruud knew he needed to make a change

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Casper Ruud has been a consistent force at the top of the ATP Tour for the past few years, but that does not mean the Norwegian has stopped his pursuit of improvement.

The 25-year-old made a change to his mindset towards the end at the 2023 season and it has paid dividends to begin 2024. Ruud is into the fourth round of the Miami Open presented by Itau and is now 18-4 for the year.

“There was actually one particular match in the US Open when I lost against Zhang [Zhizhen]. It was a tough match, it was a five-setter, but I felt the sense that I lost [because] I was kind of overpowered, over-controlled, that he was too much in charge,” Ruud told ATPTour.com. “I was just running out there defending and defending and hustling and not really doing anything with the ball. So I sat down in the locker room, obviously a year after reaching the final there thinking, ‘Something has to change, because this trend is not the right direction’.”

One year earlier, Ruud had reached the US Open final against Carlos Alcaraz. He was two sets from not only becoming a major champion, but climbing to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

The mood the Norwegian left Flushing Meadows in last year was different. He flew home to Norway and had time off before the Laver Cup in Vancouver. The former World No. 2 knew he could not allow opponents to take the racquet out of his hands regularly. Zhang did it at the US Open, and the likes of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were using their powerful baseline games to soar to the top of the sport.

“I had a few weeks to work on things there. Things just don't happen overnight. But that was kind of the start,” Ruud said. “I played a good match against Tommy Paul in Laver Cup and won against him and kind of already started to feel more aggressive and better. Then I went to Asia, which was a semi-successful trip.”

Ruud is a three-time major titlist who has proven a difficult opponent for anyone who stands across the net. In 2022, he advanced to the championship match at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The Norwegian’s game has adapted well to hard courts as well after shining on clay early in his career. Ruud claimed his 100th tour-level win on hard courts in the Miami third round.

But after a sub-standard 2023 by Ruud’s lofty standards — falling outside the Top 10 briefly earlier this year — he was not shy about making a decision to change a style that has helped him to great success.

“You always have to try to improve, otherwise, what's the point of playing and practising every day? You want to try to improve. There are still many things I can improve with my game,” Ruud said. “I mean naturally, I have a better forehand than my backhand, so my backhand will always kind of need improvement. It's something I work on every week, every day and it's not the same thing there. I mean, it just won't change overnight. It's the shot that I'm a little bit less comfortable hitting than the forehand. So that's okay.

“But serve, return, a lot of things that can improve. Also, I think my movement improved a little bit in the last three, four or five months. I think I'm moving a little quicker and smoother around the court. So when you're moving better, and when you're able to get your kind of body behind more shots, it also helps obviously.”

The 10-time ATP Tour titlist has been open about losing a couple of kilograms leading into the season. Ruud has always been fit, but he felt there was an opportunity to make a marginal gain by slightly slimming down and moving a fraction quicker.

“It can be a tenth of a second, a twentieth of a second. It can be the difference that's maybe you hitting a little bit later or in front of you. Tennis is a game with small margins,” Ruud said. “I won't hit every single forehand or backhand in my life perfectly clean in front of the body, but sometimes you kind of have to compensate and manoeuvre a little bit that spot. But if you can be half a second faster from side to side, or even just a twentieth or a tenth of a second can be the difference of some balls going in and out.

“That's how small the margins are in this sport. And that's why you need to physically be in good shape at all times.”

Ruud explained that in 2023, he was feeling “a little too heavy on the court”. He was not moving as freely as he would have liked and has felt a clear difference this year.

“I've worked a little bit on my flexibility and mobility in the last six, seven months and it's working out well. Obviously, I'm not the most flexible guy [on the ATP Tour]. You have guys like Novak and other guys that can go all the way down, do splits and hit shots,” Ruud said. “I don't get there but I'm trying my best to work on it and become a better all-around mover so looking at the guys who move the best. You have Novak obviously, Carlos, Monfils, all these guys, they are able to hit certain shots due to the fact that they are flexible and also strong out there in the corners.”

Representing his country to start the new year, Ruud did not lose a set at the United Cup. That set the tone for what has been a return to form. Ruud lost a tight match to Cameron Norrie in the third round of the Australian Open, but bounced back by reaching the final in Los Cabos and Acapulco.

“I think just the whole year has been kind of building up more and more confidence for every win I get I guess,” Ruud said. “United Cup was a good, perfect start to my season in a way. Okay, we lost the tie in the quarter-final, but it was a fun experience for us. I won my three singles matches and played some really good tennis.

“After Australia, went back home, had a few weeks, headed to Mexico where it went really well for me and I think that reaching the final in Acapulco was definitely a big result that hopefully can kind of lift the spirits and kind of set the bar for hopefully a good year.”

Just a month ago, Ruud fell to World No. 12, his lowest standing since 2021. But a willingness to change his game has put the Norwegian in good stead to reverse his course.

“This year has been a great start,” Ruud said. “So I think I'm kind of trending or moving in the right direction.”