Ruud 'Not A Rockstar', But Helping Haaland, Odegaard Build Norway Into Power

Norway has a population of less than six million, but has recently produced some of the best athletes in the world.

Some of the top stars in several sports — including footballers Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, track athletes Karsten Warholm and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and golfer Viktor Hovland — hail from the Scandinavian country, with ATP player Casper Ruud among them.

The former World No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, who leads Norway at the United Cup, has a theory as to why so many people from his country are developing into international standouts.

“I think one, which is worth mentioning, is that most of us had family involved. [They] guided us, kept us strict, focussed on our goals from a young age,” Ruud told ATPTour.com. “Haaland, Odegaard had their fathers. I had my father. Warholm, I think his mother is very involved. Ingebrigtsen had his father. So during the teenage years, I think it's really important to have either a coach or someone around you for almost all the time that keeps you focussed, keeps your mind in the right place.

“In those years, it’s natural just to start doing other things, partying, going out with friends, other things are interesting as well at that time of your life. So you need to have someone that keeps you in the right kind of mindset… I think that's something that all of us probably had.”

Ruud is a huge fan of golf and often plays on the road when he has time, so he follows Hovland’s success closely. But the Norwegian star with whom he shares the most time is Karsten Warholm, the Tokyo Olympics champion in the 400-metre hurdles. There is a training centre available to athletes who represent Norway in the Olympics where they run into one another.

“We meet and we chat a bit. Most of the other guys are traveling a lot so it's not easy to find time. Odegaard I met a couple of times. He's also a really nice guy, so I like watching football when I can,” Ruud said. “It's fun to be kind of the same generation and have other athletes to kind of push you and take motivation from Norway.”

Ruud is hoping to continue helping his country make its mark this week in Sydney. He has competed in the ATP Cup twice and United Cup once.

“I'm motivated for it and I think it's fun. I love playing on a team,” Ruud said. “Last year, I wasn't able to play Davis Cup, so it's fun to play the United Cup.”

It is safe to say kids back home will be watching and hoping to one day be in Ruud’s shoes.

“I hope I can be somewhat of a role model that helps makes tennis [in Norway] grow. I think tennis is a sport not just great for if you want to become a professional, but you can have fun with it all your life,” Ruud said. “I see in my home club in the summer people up to 70, 80 years old. They go out and play with each other and have fun. Kids come to play. So it's not just about trying to become a professional.

“It's about enjoying the sport and getting out, getting together and playing. With this new kind of variance of tennis, paddle tennis, pickleball, there are other sports coming along that kind of helps hopefully build the interest in tennis. So it's fun.”

For Ruud, it is not just about one player’s success on the court.

“During COVID in 2020, I think there was an increase of almost 100 per cent in members in Norway in clubs. So I think it's kept growing and if it's because I'm doing well or because the clubs are doing well, I don't know,” Ruud said. “But obviously I think you can see the same in golf with Hovland. People also come out to play golf more often than before and it's somewhat of a golf boom, because people like following him and they think it's fun. They take inspiration from looking at someone on TV, so I hope that I can continue to kind of make the sport grow in a way.”

Touchdown in Sydney 🛬 👀 🎾#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/cy1ZBVLKFw

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) December 27, 2023

Norway’s top female singles player at the United Cup, Malene Helgo, feels it is “really cool” to see her country represented on the big stage.

“We're a really small country compared to other countries. So having Casper, having Warholm, Haaland, all the Ingebrigtsen brothers, I think it's really cool that we're doing so well in different sports,” Helgo said. “I think [tennis is] growing because of [Casper]. Of course he's in the news, and people are looking more at tennis. But still, it's a small sport compared to for example Haaland in football. It's different, I would say, but… I think everybody knows about him in Norway.”

Ruud is not being swarmed when he returns home to Norway. But since playing Roger Federer in the third round of 2019 Roland Garros, he has noticed an uptick in his recognition.

“I think there were a lot of Norwegians that watched the match because Federer is a big name. You had a Norwegian playing against Federer, it was a big thing. So when I came home from Paris, that summer there was more [attention] than usual,” Ruud said. “It's nothing crazy at all. I can easily go unnoticed around in the city. It's not like I'm some kind of a rockstar or anything.

“But sometimes in the grocery store, people come up to me and ask for a picture or tell me 'Well done, keep going, we're following'. So it's only nice.”