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When you come from icy cold terra firma that surrounds Casper Ruud‘s hometown of Oslo, Norway (where there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing), the balmy air, blooming bougainvillea and mountainous backdrops of the Coachella Valley can only be seen as a refreshing change of pace. Norway’s top player cherishes the opportunity to play tennis in the California desert and, if the stars properly align, he enjoys his time on the links as well. The No.8-seeded Norwegian tells BNP Paribas Open that he always packs his golf clubs when he comes stateside, even if he’s too busy winning tennis matches to play very often.

We caught up with the 23-year-old after his second-round victory over American Christopher Eubanks to check in on his on-court goals and – of course – his handicap.



How does it feel to be back at Indian Wells for the second time in five months?

It’s not often that you get to come back to a tournament after five months, the same place, so it’s a bit strange and different but I think the conditions are even nicer now in March, everything is a bit more green, personally I like to play golf so the golf courses are in better shape, so the grass is grown out again, and it’s a little bit more green, more flowers and everything.

The Conditions here in the California desert are unique. Players that perform well on clay like yourself often seem to like the conditions. How do you feel playing here?

The conditions I think suit me quite well, I feel like the ball is traveling a bit faster here, there is some altitude but not too much, but then again the courts are playing very slow, so it kind of evens it out. I have always, when I come, taken a couple of days to get into the rhythm, because it is honestly not like anywhere else to play here, it’s a bit different to get used to because the air is dryer and yes, the conditions are different.

It was a close second-round match today with Chris Eubanks, especially early. How did you manage to get through?

I think honestly the first set was so close and we both played well, I was hanging on the edge in the tiebreak there but was able to turn it around and I think, like I said on court, if Chris continues to play like this I see no reason why he shouldn’t be in the top-100 or top-50 – I hope he can do it by the end of the year because I think he’s a great player. He has all the shots.

What did you do well in the win?

Myself I played well from the back, which is what I kind of have to rely on. My serve is not my biggest weapon, but at the same time I served well. I made 70 percent of my first serves and was able to break him two times in the second set so overall it was a good performance and I’m happy with all aspects of the game.



I’ve read that you wanted to target the bigger events this year, how does playing well at Indian Wells fit into that stated mission?

Yes, for sure, like I said we were here only five months ago and I reached the fourth round so I kind of have a fourth round to defend when it comes to the points and I will have to play well to get there, but obviously the goal is to reach further and to win more matches at the bigger events.

I think I had quite good success last year in the Masters 1000 events, I think I reached three quarterfinals on hard courts and two semifinals on clay, so I mean, what I meant by the bigger tournaments was Grand Slams specifically, because last year was maybe a little bit of a disappointment compared to the rest of the season, but this is definitely a good start to the bigger events of the year, because this is the first of nine Masters 1000s and I think many people refer to Indian Wells as kind of like the fifth Grand Slam because the stadium is big and it’s such a great event, so it would obviously mean a lot and feel good to do well here.

Stefanos Tsitsipas was asked what it would mean to win Indian Wells in his pre-tournament press conference. He said it would be massive because it would be a signal that he’s ready to win a Grand Slam title. Do you feel the same way?

Yes, maybe. And I think Cameron Norrie showed last year that it is possible to do and to break through the top guys, for us guys coming from behind. Now obviously Rafa is here – he wasn’t here last year – and Daniil is the new No.1 so it’s exciting times to play tennis and to watch tennis so, hopefully this year we can have a new champion as well, or a first-time champion here.

How great is the golf here at Indian Wells, and how often do you get the chance to play when you’re traveling the tour?

I always bring my clubs when I go to the States, my own personal clubs, from back home, because even though you have golf courses everywhere in Palm Springs and here in the desert, I think the whole United States pretty much is like this. You can find golf courses anywhere and so many good ones. I bring the clubs also when I go to Toronto, Cincinnati and New York, because also the northeastern courses are incredible in their own way. Here you have the desert courses, which are unique.


When do you find the time to play?

I try to play as much as I can, but I don’t play 18 holes the day before a match, because I would like to save my energy for this. So it’s something I do a little bit when we are building up to the tournament, I try to play nine or 18 holes here and there if I get the time, but at the same time I’m here to do a job and that is to play tennis, so I can’t look at it as a vacation.

When we came here in 2020, I was so excited to play this event for the first time and then the moment we arrived at the hotel they just shut the whole tournament down, so that time we just decided to stay for ten days just to enjoy the weather and just to stay here. I got to play a lot during that time but I think hopefully I won’t play too much because that means it’s going well in the tennis, but here and in Florida you can find great courses, and I’m going to play in Houston as well, so I brought my clubs for this four or five week span, but let’s see how much I end up playing.

Are you a scratch golfer?

No, I cannot say I’m a scratch golfer, I’m around a two or three handicap.

What is the strong point of your game and what is the weak point?

I think my strong side when I play well is my drives. Being a tennis player you have some explosiveness in your body, so we tend to hit it quite far, though not quite like the guys on the PGA Tour. If I hit a couple of bombs it can go up to 310 yards, so when I drive it well it kind of builds my whole game. If you drive well you play well, it’s a little bit like this. If I don’t drive well I struggle a lot.

What part of the game do you struggle with?

The worst part would be maybe from the sand. I don’t feel too comfortable in the sand, it’s frustrating to see on TV how good they are from the bunkers and the sand because it looks so easy but I guess the sand in Norway is a bit different from over here. It rains a lot in Norway so I never really went into practice too many bunker shots in golf. But if I could choose one shot to be better at in golf it would be from the sand.

Stars help community in second edition of the initiative
The stars of the ATP Tour and the Hologic WTA Tour are used to competing against each other, but on Tuesday they came together in a big way in Miami.

The world’s best tennis players ventured into the wider South Florida community for the second edition of Miami Open Unites, a series of events held throughout the day in which the athletes supported those in need, inspired the next generation and more.

Andy Murray, Frances Tiafoe, Sania Mirza and Jessica Pegula visited Moore Park Tennis Centre, which was founded by Arthur Ashe and Butch Buchholz, to participate in a clinic put on by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami and answer questions from the kids.

“I think it’s so important. You see kids here from all different backgrounds just enjoying picking up tennis racquets. Some are playing for the first time and that’s ultimately what we want to do,” Murray said. “We want to try and give back to our sport a little bit and inspire some kids to take up tennis.”

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Pegula was touched by hearing from some of the kids and learning how the programme has been able to improve the lives of many kids in the area.

“It was pretty incredible to hear some of the stories of some of the partnerships that they’ve done, and matching kids with mentors and Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and how some of them have even gone on and been professional athletes just like us. It’s really special and just kind of humbling,” Pegula said. “It’s really super important. It’s the reason why I think we all are happy to be here, to do this, to give back to the community that is putting on the event.”

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/casp ... ew'>Casper Ruud</a>, Simona Halep, <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/fabi ... iew'>Fabio Fognini</a>
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Elsewhere, Fabio Fognini, Casper Ruud and Simona Halep helped Rebuilding Together, which repairs and rebuilds housing for senior citizens and veterans, while Jannik Sinner and Sloane Stephens joined the Miami Open team for a donation to Dress For Success, a not-for-profit organisation that provides women a network of support, professional attire and more.

Matteo Berrettini, Denis Shapovalov and Belinda Bencic, all big fans of dogs, went to the Humane Society of Greater Miami to help groom some lost and forgotten animals from South Florida. The ultimate goal of the centre is to help prepare the animals for adoption.

“Today we are at the dog shelter, we are making dog baths and I think it’s very nice,” Bencic said. “For me this one suits the most. I really love dogs and I also have a dog from a dog shelter, actually. So that’s why I think this one is best for me, but I really like the whole idea of this initiative.”

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/robe ... w'>Roberto Bautista Agut</a>, Samantha Stosur and Reille Opelka
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Another activity saw Carlos Alcaraz, Pablo Carreno Busta, Paula Badosa and Ons Jabeur spend time at the Miami Rescue Mission to feed those in need of meals. Roberto Bautista Agut, Reilly Opelka and Samantha Stosur travelled to Liberty City to assist Health in the Hood by planting seeds in a vegetable garden, which will turn into produce that is distributed for free to those in need.

In the final event of the day, Diego Schwartzman, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alize Cornet and Karolina Pliskova took a trip to Miami Beach to clean up garbage. They even had a fun little competition among themselves to see who would pick up the most trash.

“Making every single day count,” Tsitsipas said. “[It is about] sustainability and trying to save our planet and make it a better place to live.”

The Miami Grand Prix is set for 8 May at Hard Rock Stadium
Instead of, 'Game, set, match' it was, 'Ready, set, go' on Thursday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

ATP players Casper Ruud and Sebastian Korda joined WTA player Caty McNally in testing a Formula 1 simulator inside Hard Rock Stadium. There are many F1 fans on Tour, and they were excited to try out their racing skills before the Miami Grand Prix comes to the same venue on 8 May.

"Now I've got a small feel of it, and you can go quite fast I would say," Ruud said. "I think I reached about 185 miles per hour. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to watch on TV when F1 comes here to Miami."

Caty McNally and <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/casp ... ew'>Casper Ruud</a>
Photo Credit: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour
In the simulator, the players used real driving controls and pedals, with projected "best lines" on the screen to help them navigate the Miami track. That does not mean it was easy, though.

"The simulator didn't go as well as planned! I lost control of the car maybe three times and I wouldn't walk out of that in a regular F1 car, so I'm glad that this was a simulator," McNally said. "But it was fun. Hopefully next time I could do a little better."

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/seba ... >Sebastian Korda</a>
Photo Credit: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour
Korda was fulfilling his media requests following his first-round win against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina when he spotted the simulator. The American had a blast giving it a shot, before encouraging one of his favourite drivers for the upcoming Miami Grand Prix.

"I'm not a good driver, at all!" Korda said. "Carlos Sainz, come on! I know you can do it!"

Norwegian will next face big-serving Bublik
The last time Casper Ruud competed at the Miami Open presented by Itau, in 2019, he was the No. 98 player in the ATP Rankings. On Friday evening he showed why he is on a whole new level now.

The World No. 8 cruised past Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen 6-1, 6-2 in 50 minutes to earn his first main draw win in Miami. Seeded sixth, he is into the third round at Hard Rock Stadium.

Ruud did not face a break point and he won a higher rate of his second-serve points (70%) than Laaksonen did his first-serve points (54%). He converted four of his six break points to move through.

World No. 8 faces 10th seed Norrie in fourth round
Having finally secured a maiden Miami Open presented by Itau triumph in his opening match this week, Casper Ruud returned to the court eager for more against Alexander Bublik on Sunday.

After coming through a tough three-set second-round win over Henri Laaksonen, Ruud showed no intention of hanging around under the Florida sun against Bublik as he raced to a 58-minute 6-3, 6-2 victory, improving his record for the 2022 season to 10-3.

Ruud has performed well at ATP Masters 1000 level before, but his greatest successes have come on clay. He reached the semi-finals in Rome in 2020, and Monte Carlo and Madrid in 2021, but his performance against Bublik was further evidence that his hard-court game is more than capable of taking him deep in Miami.

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After a late break clinched the opening set for the Norwegian, the second was a more straightforward affair. He raced into a 4-0 lead and never looked back, securing the win with his second match point to extend his ATP Head2Head series lead over Bublik to 4-1.

Bublik reached the quarter-finals in Miami last year and the Montpellier champion will be disappointed with this loss. As ever with the Kazakh, there was still fun to be had as he used his racquet handle to return a Ruud lob before finishing off the point late in the second set.


Ruud’s win was a story of dominant serving, The Norwegian denied Bublik a single break point in the match and the Infosys ATP Stats show Ruud won 85 per cent (28/33) of points behind his first serve. This gave the sixth seed the freedom to play loose and apply pressure on the Kazakh’s delivery, as he broke three times on his way to fourth round.

His opponent there will be the in-form Cameron Norrie, who defeated Hugo Gaston 6-3, 7-5 to also reach the fourth round in Miami for the first time. Ruud has won both the pair’s previous meetings, the most recent a three-set win at November’s Nitto ATP Finals.