Casper Ruud withdraws from Geneva Open after Rome thrashing by Jannik Sinner

Defending champion Casper Ruud decided to withdraw from the Geneva Open after a very tough defeat against Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of the Rome Open by 0-6, 1-6. The Norwegian comes from a busy few weeks on the Tour, in which he achieved his first Masters 1000 title – defeating Jack Draper in the final, and racking up 9 consecutive wins.

However, Ruud's great momentum was shattered by one of the toughest defeats of his career, barely winning a game against world No. 1 Sinner. Beforehand, the match seemed more evenly matched than it actually was, in an impressive performance by the Italian, who gave his opponent no chances and ended up securing his passage to the semifinals without any trouble.

Ruud was scheduled to play the Geneva Open starting on Monday, a tournament where he is the defending champion and the most successful player – with three titles (2021, 2022, 2024). The Norwegian, however, will not be present this time as he prepares to face Roland Garros.

These have been weeks full of physical demands for the Norwegian, who won the Madrid Open a couple of weeks ago. He played a total of 10 matches in a span of just 20 days. After the title in Madrid, he only had a few days to travel to Rome and prepare for the start of the tournament, advancing several rounds to the quarterfinals.

Without it being announced whether Ruud has physical problems or if it is simply a form of prevention for Roland Garros, the defending champion decided not to attend Geneva, one of the usual stops on his calendar.

In this way, his next challenge will be at the upcoming Roland Garros, where he will be the 6th seed and will seek to put the painful defeat against Sinner behind him. If until a couple of days ago Ruud could easily claim a spot as a title contender at the French Open, the resounding defeat against Sinner has once again raised doubts about his game, which likely led Ruud to decide to take a break before the second Grand Slam of the year.