Young Norwegian star Casper Ruud is one of the most promising players on clay. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that he considers World No.1 Rafael Nadal his idol.
The Next Gen hopeful spoke to Sport Klub about his experience training with Nadal: “I have always loved Rafa, he was one of my main idols growing up. Last year I had a chance to train with him for a week in Mallorca and it was unbelievable. I learned a lot and just seeing him at the other side of the net was a nice experience.
Besides that he is also a nice guy though we didn’t spend a lot of time off the court as I didn’t want to get into his privacy after already spending so many hours with him on the court,”
Ruud struggled at times on the ATP World Tour in 2017, though he did reach the semi-finals in Rio. There he lost a close three-setter to Pablo Carreno Busta. Still aged just 19, he qualified for the Australian Open , and defeated Quentin Halys to reach the second round this year.
Ruud has never played Nadal. However, given that they both enjoy the clay, it is possible that the pair may meet somewhere on tour this year.
