Casper Ruud admits he is likely to make a significant change to his schedule in the future by playing fewer events, in order to minimize the risk of injury and burnout.
The three-time Grand Slam finalist heads into this week’s Stockholm Open having played 47 matches this season across 17 tournaments, including the David Cup. During this season, Ruud also missed nearly two months of the Tour due to a knee injury, which ruled him out of the grass swing. His best result was at the Madrid Open, where he won his first Masters 1000 title. He was also a semi-finalist at ATP 500 events in Dallas and Tokyo.
Now heading into the final stretch of the 2025 season, Ruud has mixed feelings about how his year has gone so far. He is in contention for qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin but is currently in 12th place, which is four spots away from the last automatic qualifying spot (assuming Novak Djokovic plays).
“It has been a mixture of highs and lows,” Ruud said during an interview with Bolavip.com. “This is the first season where I have experienced being out a few weeks in a row with my knee. That was a new challenge, obviously.
“It was a memorable season because of the Madrid title, but I am not sitting here being super satisfied overall. There were too many early losses in tournaments, but I try to learn from those. Like I said, it will be memorable because I won the biggest title in my career this year, and I was playing some really good tennis during that time.”
The Tour schedule has been a hot topic in the sport in recent months with various players raising their concerns about its length. One of those includes Djokovic, who recently stated that players must unite and invest more of their time in addressing such issues. Djokovic is the co-founder of the PTPA, which is an organisation that campaigns for players to have a greater say in the sports decision-making process.
“Of course, Novak has a point,” Ruud commented. “He has more experience than any other player. Sure, you can pick and choose in a way, because we are not hired by the ATP, we are bosses of our own schedule. What I criticized and talked about at the French Open was that there is an economic motivation to play and not skip any Masters 1000s with the bonus and everything.
“But yeah, sure, if you are in the top 10, top 15, you make a lot of money, but you also spend a lot of money with all the expenses that you have, so you don’t want to miss out on any money if you don’t need to.”
Elaborating further, Ruud also questioned the decision to have the Paris Masters so late in the year. This year’s edition will get underway on October 25th, more than 10 months after the first ATP events of the season took place. Players’ off-season usually begins at some point in November, depending on their Davis Cup commitments. Then they have December off, but many choose to play exhibition events before starting their next season.
“To have a mandatory event like Paris that late in the season makes the season really, really long. It’s the same for everyone, but going forward I will plan the schedule a bit differently, maybe skipping a few events here and there,” Ruud explained.
“I had a very hectic 3–4 years since I reached the top 10. I played a lot of events, and I played some exhibitions in the preseason, so those are some choices that I have made, which I look back on and think I shouldn’t have done. For the future, that is something I will take into consideration.”
Ruud is seeking his first title in Stockholm after reaching the quarter-finals 12 months ago.
