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Learn the surprising food the Norwegian does not eat
Editor's Note: This story was originally published on 1 June 2022.

Casper Ruud advanced to his first US Open final on Friday when he defeated Karen Khachanov.. It is safe to say the Norwegian did not eat any tomato in the pre-match meal that helped fuel him across the line.

In this edition of 'Food Court', Ruud dishes on his favourite meal to cook, his guilty pleasures, why he does not eat tomatoes and more.

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Let’s say you have to cook tonight, whether for yourself or for friends. What would you cook and why?
I would go for spaghetti vongole. It’s an Italian pasta dish with clams from the sea. I really like it and it’s not too difficult to make, actually. It sounds a bit fancy, but it’s not difficult at all.

How would you rate your cooking skills? Are you close to a Michelin star?
No, I’m not a Michelin star. I’m far, far away from it. Most days in my year I eat either in restaurants or takeout. restaurants obviously when I’m out travelling and when I’m home I try to do some home-made meals, but mostly takeout as well.

What’s your guilty pleasure?
I like Asian food, Asian flavours. Japanese and Thai. I really like pad Thai. I always try to find it whenever I’m travelling around a place that has great pad Thai, which is a quite simple noodle dish. But sushi is also one of my favourites, but I also have to say Italian food is on the top there.

What do you eat right before a match and how many hours before the match do you eat it?
I always eat the same for lunch or dinner before a match. I eat a very simple, plain rice with chicken, some olive oil and salt. It seems like a smart thing to do, it’s quite easy and some good carbohydrates if I have to play a long [match]. It’s not too much flavor obviously, that’s why I add a little bit of salt. Salt is also good for sweating a lot, which I do. I think we found a good way to do it before matches.

I always try to eat around an hour and a half or two hours before the match so that the food has time to sink and I don’t feel heavy or too full when I go out on court. After matches I try to have some protein and some food right away, right after the match.

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What do you snack on during a match? Has that changed over the years and if so, what did you used to eat?
I have some bars and some gels and maybe a banana here and there, but not typically. For best-of-five sets yes, I’d consider it more, but not too much I would say.

The thing is that I’m sweating a lot, so when you’re sweating and your body is hot or warm from sweating, you don’t really have the biggest appetite, so I find it quite hard to eat during [a match]. But some bars and some stuff is quite simple. It has changed. Everything has become increasingly more professional for me now than let’s say five years ago.

I’ve been quite good with those routines and I always try to eat healthy or as healthy as I can. Obviously on match days, I try to keep it very simple.

What might you eat during a non-tournament week that you wouldn’t during a tournament?
I think maybe I add a little bit more dessert when I’m not in tournament weeks, but I’m quite a simple guy when it comes to eating. Asian and Italian food is kind of where I spend most of my meals. Obviously sometimes I try to have some American food, especially [in the United States]. I’ll have some burgers or ribs. I always enjoy those things, but not too much. You could [feel] quite heavy from it before a match.

What is something people might be surprised to hear you enjoy?

I really like mussels and clams, so that’s not something that I think everybody likes. But I’m quite picky at the same time. I don’t eat tomatoes. I don’t find them tasty at all. I know tomato is in a lot of dishes, so that’s a bit unfortunate, but I’m quite picky. I don’t really like mushrooms either. There are some things that I try to stay away from, but I would say mussels and clams are not typical in my family to like, but I do.



What is the best meal from your culture/country?
I would say that we have great salmon, which is kind of our pride. Our salmon is top notch, I think. We don’t have many typical dishes that are honestly too good, but the salmon we take good pride in.

Is there something about your diet that you might not have known as a junior that has really helped you?
I think I try to eat a little bit of green every day, either vegetables or salad. I actually feel it helps your body. It’s easy, but at the same time very important for the body. I didn’t like it too much when I was younger, but luckily I came to like it a little more as I’m getting older. My taste is getting more mature, so it’s easier for me now to eat green stuff.

What is your favourite place on Tour for food?
Favourite place for food? Ooh. We are always very well taken care of, we have many options. But I think one of the tournaments that does incredible lunch and dinner is Vienna, the ATP 500 event. There you find very good pasta, a good salad bar, good meat as well if you want to have that. They do a very, very good job and I always enjoy Austrian food with schnitzel and everything. I enjoy being there.

Norwegian is into his second major final
Casper Ruud advanced to his second Grand Slam final and his first at the US Open with a four-set win against Karen Khachanov on Friday. One point might have made all the difference.

At 6/5 in the first-set tie-break, the pair engaged in a long rally. Neither man took control of the point until Ruud unleashed a backhand up the line that Khachanov missed into the net. The 55-shot rally not only earned Ruud the set, but gave him a heavy dose of momentum leading into the set set, which he claimed 6-2.

“It was a very important point in the match. Of course, set point. I had not wasted two because he served well on the two previous set points. I knew this [was] a chance to win the first set. I'm on my serve,” Ruud recalled. “I missed a serve by small margins the first serve. Looked like it could be an ace. Second serve we played for the rally. I think we both just refused to do a mistake knowing how important that point is.”


Both players struck the ball with plenty of margin until Ruud cracked the backhand that ultimately decided the point.

“That's fun with tennis because some of the best rallies of all time, longer rallies of all times, often come in important points because we both realise how important it is. You don't want to do a mistake,” Ruud said. “Towards the end the pulse was getting very high and the legs were almost shaking at a point. I was able to at one point there where I just ripped the backhand down the line and went for it sort of. Could stretch my arms in the air and win the first set.

“Like I said, I think it was a key factor to win the second set, and that gave of course motivation and energy to play good and keep going in the second.”

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The 55-stroke rally was the longest of the tournament as of the end of the match, according to tournament officials. The next-longest rally of the event came between Daniil Medvedev and Wu Yibing, which lasted 36 shots, in the third round.

Although Khachanov battled hard, the lengthy rally put him in too deep of a hole. Ruud moved into his second major final of the season, after also reaching the championship match at Roland Garros.

The stakes will be even higher for Ruud on this occasion. If Carlos Alcaraz defeats Frances Tiafoe in tonight’s second semi-final, Ruud will need to beat Alcaraz for the trophy on Sunday to leave New York with the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking.

“I think what's most fair is if we both reach the final and whoever wins the final reaches the World No. 1. That would be I think the ideal situation,” Ruud said. “If I go to bed as No. 1, I will sleep pretty damn well, I guess.”