ATP Tour

5 things to watch in Stockholm: Fritz, Ruud, Musetti & more

Top seed Taylor Fritz and defending champion Casper Ruud headline the field at the Bybit Stockholm Open, the lone ATP Tour event this week.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch in Stockholm:

1) Fritz seeks second title of season: Owning a Tour-leading 13 indoor wins this season, Fritz is the top seed in the Swedish capital. The 29-year-old is competing in Stockholm for the first time in five years. He arrives at the ATP 250 event after a quarter-final run at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he let slip two match points against Carlos Alcaraz that had he converted, Fritz would have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals. Still, this year's Washington champion can finish the season on a high note in Stockholm.

2) Defending champ Ruud: Flashback to October last year and the Norwegian Ruud raced through the field, earning his 14th career title for the loss of just one set. Ruud downed Ugo Humbert 6-2, 6-3 in a 66-minute final. This year, the Bybit Stockholm Open is held one month later. Ruud is seeking his first title of 2026. He is coming off a semi-final run in Paris.

3) Musetti makes tournament debut: The 24-year-old Italian has found some of his best form in the closing weeks of the season. Musetti two weeks ago was crowned champion at the ATP 250 event in Lyon, where he saved four match points in the semis to outlast countryman Flavio Cobolli before defeating Fritz in the final. Then, last week in Paris, Musetti upset Alexander Zverev, who was playing his first match as World No. 1. Musetti now makes his Stockholm debut. He’ll face the winner of Toby Samuel and Leo Borg, who is the son of ATP No. 1 Club member Bjorn Borg.

4) Rune returns to Stockholm: Last year in Stockholm, Holger Rune suffered a severe Achilles injury, forcing him to undergo surgery and be sidelined from competition for 11 months. Now, the former World No. 4 is back at the indoor hard-court tournament, where he lifted the trophy in 2022. This week marks the Dane’s fifth ATP Tour event of 2026. He will open against eighth seed Zizou Bergs.

5) Borg bids for home success: The 23-year-old Borg is a wild card at his home tournament. Borg has earned two ATP Tour match wins on home soil, including a victory last year in Stockholm before he fell in three sets against Denis Shapovalov. The World No. 599 in the PIF ATP Rankings, whose father Bjorn Borg won 66 tour-level singles trophies throughout an illustrious career, will be eager to make memories in his own backyard.

Argentines Cerundolo, Tirante win Sunday's main-draw matches
Stockholm's main draw action began Sunday, with Argentines Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Thiago Agustin Tirante advancing. Cerundolo defeated home hope Elias Ymer 6-1, 7-6(4) while Tirante ousted Spaniard Jaume Munar 7-6(3), 6-3.

Cerundolo, 24, ended his four-match skid and earned his first ATP Tour match win on indoor hard courts. Tirante improved to 14-6 in Tour-level opening rounds this season.