'You're kind of forcing players to show up injured or sick': Casper Ruud says ATP rules pressure players into risking their health

Casper Ruud took aim at the ATP for “forcing” injured or sick players to compete, following a painful second-round defeat at Roland Garros. The Norwegian was one of the favorites to go deep in the tournament, but ended up falling unexpectedly to Nuno Borges by 6-2, 4-6, 1-6, 0-6.

It was undoubtedly a tough loss for Ruud, who just a few weeks ago had claimed his first Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open. He had put together a streak of nine consecutive clay-court wins before falling to Jannik Sinner in the Rome quarterfinals (0-6, 1-6).

Nevertheless, he arrived at the French Open with high ambitions, as a player who had reached the final twice before. He overcame Albert Ramos Viñolas without trouble in his opener, but this Wednesday he bowed out early, becoming the second top-10 seed (after Taylor Fritz) to be eliminated on the men’s side.

During the match against Borges, Ruud received medical attention for apparent discomfort in his left calf. Later, in his press conference, he revealed that this had been a recurring issue throughout the clay swing. “For the last couple of weeks, I've been kind of struggling a little bit with knee pain on and off. That's why I decided to pull out of Geneva after Rome, do my best, and heal to be ready here,”

“I had a scan during Madrid actually, in the beginning of the tournament. I felt it the first time in Monte-Carlo. So it's been with me actually the whole clay season on and off,” he added. “Depending a little bit on how kind of physically tough some matches are, the day after it will either be a bit more sore or not.”

“The scan didn't show any structural damage, which is a good thing. There's liquid of inflammation in there that needs to settle,” the 3-time Grand Slam finalist added. “As we know, it's a hectic clay season, and I decided to kind of push through it doing some anti-inflammatory pills and painkillers to try to get rid of it, which has helped to a certain degree but not enough. I will have some more time now to let it heal and rest for a long time.”

The 26-year-old took the opportunity to criticise the ATP for its packed schedule full of mandatory tournaments. “Well, it's kind of like a rat race when it comes to the rankings, as well. You feel you're obligated to play with certain rules that the ATP have set up with the mandatory events. You feel like you lose a lot if you don't show up and play, both economically, point-wise, ranking-wise and opportunity-wise.”

“For me, I know these weeks and months are really important for the remaining of the year and for my career. Of course, if my leg is broken, I won't play,” the Norwegian stated. “But it's tough anyways, especially when there's a time with mandatory events to skip them because the punishments are quite hard, in terms of everyone else will play, gain points, and you won't. Also there's a certain bonus system set up that is reduced if you don't show up to the mandatory events”

“It's a questionable system because on one hand you don't want to show up injured, and you maybe give the spot to other one. I'm not sure if you're aware, but if you don't play a mandatory event, they cut 25 per cent of your year-end bonus. You're kind of forcing players to show up injured or sick, or whatever, when that is not what I think is very fair.”