Erin Routliffe left stunned that Australian Open has 'robots everywhere,' except for making this key decision

After a semifinal exit from Roland Garros, the famously grass-averse Norwegian aims to apply his more attacking style to the quicker courts awaiting him over the next few weeks.

ByDavid Kane

Published Jun 07, 2024

Casper Ruud is not exactly a stanger to grass, but his most fulfilling time spent on the green stuff is typically with a golf club in hand.

“I think grass is for golf players,” Ruud famously said after reaching the Miami Open final back in 2022. “My preparation for Wimbledon is pretty much just playing golf, you know, before the tournament, because I feel more comfortable on the golf course than the tennis courts on grass for now. But let's see if it can change.”

Though he has since attempted to clarify that his statement was largely in jest, the former world No. 2 spent most of last year’s grass-court swing following The Weeknd’s European tour. He even parlayed his second-round Wimbledon loss to Liam Broady into an excuse to catch the Grammy Award-winning musician’s London show.

But no, seriously, Casper Ruud is finally ready to make a run on grass, the only surface on which he is yet to reach the second week of a major.

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“I think it's a very fun surface, and I have been joking a little bit about certain things before, but I think it's a very fun surface to play on because it brings something completely different,” said Ruud, who suffered from a stomach bug through his Roland Garros semifinal exit on Friday. “It challenges me in a way that I think is good for my game in a way to be challenged.

“I'm really looking forward to Wimbledon," adds the three-time Grand Slam runner-up, who clarified he doesn't plan to play an official ATP warm-up on grass before arriving at the All England Club. "But yeah, next week I don't think I will watch much tennis.”

How can he turn around a career 4-7 record on the slick stuff? Though his technique, anchored by a heavy topspin forehand, isn’t exactly conducive to grass, his more aggressive mind set—one that has helped him amass an impressive 39-10 record through the first six months of 2024—might be what makes the difference this time:

I think I have played maybe 50 matches already the first five months of the year. It's going to be nice with a few weeks off and then I'm looking forward to getting on the grass. Casper Ruud

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Q. You have been playing some of your most attacking tennis that you've played in your career, I guess. Could you reflect on your progress over the last few months and this year despite the result today.

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, you know, I'm very pleased with how the season has been so far. In my game I've tried to make a few adjustments and improvements, and I think that they've come along pretty well.

Still, there's a lot, a long way to go where I feel like I'm 100% satisfied, and I think that's a good thing. I don't feel like I'm complete yet as a player, very far from it. So I still have a lot of things to work on.

But the season has been great, I would say, to sum it up. This result here in Paris is, in my eyes, a great result, and it was unfortunate and a pity today that it ended this way. But I consider it, let's say, the first half of the year very good, and I'm looking forward to having some time off.

I think I have played maybe 50 matches already the first five months of the year. It's going to be nice with a few weeks off and then I'm looking forward to getting on the grass.

And hey, Megan Thee Stallion is playing the O2 Arena on July 17; if that’s not enough of an excuse to hang around SW19 as long as possible, I don’t know what is.