Casper Ruud says he has sought help after not feeling ‘great mentally’ in a candid press conference at the Madrid Open on Thursday.
The former world No.2 spoke about the difficulties of Tour life after beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-5, to reach the semi-finals of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time this year. It is not the first time a top-ranked player has spoken about such an issue. Carlos Alcaraz spoke about his experience during his Netflix documentary series and Jack Draper admits he still doubts himself.
Speaking about his current health, three-time Grand Slam finalist Ruud told reporters in Madrid that he has felt much better since seeking help. The Norwegian declined to talk about the specifics of his mental health issue but admits the constant travel as a player ‘got too much’ for him at one stage. Tennis has one of the longest seasons out of any professional sport which begins in January and ends in Early November. Then during the off-season, some players chose to play exhibition events which will generate more income for them.
“I’ve been kind of feeling not great mentally this year,” said Ruud. “But I’ve [sought] help, which has really worked for me, and I’ve been feeling quick response and feeling a lot better, so that’s really helped to have someone to talk to about certain things.
“It’s a tough life in many ways, and a lot of travel days, and it just got to a point where it felt like it was getting too much. But I really seeked help, and it’s been working, so I’m happy to feel more joy and feel like I’m in a better place, I guess, and feel like I’m waking up every day with a smile on my face. So I am happy that I was honest with myself and felt like I needed some help, and it’s been paying off quite quickly.”
Elaborating further, Ruud said he now feels in a better place mentally than in recent weeks. He is yet to drop a set at the Madrid Open where he is seeded 14th. Besides Medvedev, he has also scored wins over Taylor Fritz, Sebastian Korda and Arthur Rinderknech.
“If you compare it to, let’s say, if you’re struggling with something technical on your game, it’s not this kind of easy to feel a quick response right away, it might take weeks, months, for something to feel better on court,” he continued.
“But mentally I really, felt like I’m in a better place this week than last week and the two and three weeks ago.”’
The 26-year-old uses a hamster wheel as an analogy for what he has been experiencing in recent times. So far this year, he has failed to win back-to-back matches in four out of eight tournaments (including one he withdrew from due to illness). On the other hand, he reached the final in Dallas, the fourth round in Miami, the quarter-finals in Barcelona and at least the semi-finals in Madrid.
“I just kind of felt a bit like I was running in a hamster wheel that never got anywhere. And just, this life and this professional tennis life is sort of like a hamster wheel that just never stops. I mean except for six weeks in November, December, where it’s off, of course. But then you’re back straight after New Year’s, or even this year we started 27th or 28th of December the season starts.” He explained.
“So you’re kind of sacrificing certain personal, family time, which sometimes feels tougher than others. It just came down to me feeling like I’m running in this hamster wheel and I’m never kind of getting anywhere, or you’re just stuck in it and I needed to kind of jump out of it a little to review where I was going and how I was feeling.”
“I guess I’m back on the hamster wheel, but with a better mentality of that it’s allowed to kind of have mental struggles or mental, tougher days mentally, and tennis is not just about hitting the balls well or being quick around the court, but it’s also a very, very mindful game.”
Ruud will next play Francisco Cerundolo in Madrid.
