“I’m back on the hamster wheel” – Ruud opens up on struggles of life on tour
The Norwegian spoke honestly about some of the difficulties of life as a professional tennis player on tour
Casper Ruud in Madrid (Zuma/PSNewz)
Casper Ruud made it to the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-5 and underlining his high degree of comfort on clay – and then spoke in his press conference about the tough time he has had coping with the stresses of life on tour, which has led him to seek help.
“I prefer not to go into too many details because I’ve had some mental, I’ve been kind of feeling not great mentally this year,” he said in response to a question. “But I’ve [sought] help, which has really worked for me, and I’ve been feeling quick response and feeling a lot better, so that’s really helped to have someone to talk to about certain things.
“It’s a tough life in many ways, and a lot of travel days, and it just got to a point where it got felt like it was getting too much. But I really seeked help, and it’s been working, so I’m happy to feel more joy and feel like I’m in a better place, I guess, and feel like I’m waking up every day with a smile on my face. So I am happy that I was honest with myself and felt like I needed some help, and it’s been paying off quite quickly.
“If you compare it to, let’s say, if you’re struggling with something technical on your game, it’s not this kind of easy to feel a quick response right away, it might take weeks, months, for something to feel better on court. But mentally I’m really, felt like I’m in a better place this week than last week and the two and three weeks ago.”
Ruud: You have to be honest when something is not working
He elaborated on that, explaining that he would ask for help if he felt his technical game needed improvement, and that he is treating his state of mind in the same way.
“In this life I think you have to be pretty honest with yourself when something is not working and something needs to change for the better, that’s always what you’re seeking.
“So, even now, if I’m playing well or feeling well, I can still seek to be mentally even better or even tougher or even better at certain situations. I can always try to improve my backhand or my serve or my return, so there’s always room for improvement.
“But I just kind of felt a bit like I was running in a hamster wheel that never got anywhere. And just, this life and this professional tennis life is sort of like a hamster wheel that just never stops, really, I mean except for six weeks in November, December, where it’s off, of course. But then you’re back straight after New Years, or even this year we started 27th or 28th of December the season starts.
So you’re kind of sacrificing certain personal, family time, which sometimes feels tougher than others. It just came down to me feeling like I’m running in this hamster wheel and I’m never kind of getting anywhere, or you’re just stuck in it and I needed to kind of jump out of it a little to review where I was going and how I was feeling.”
He added: “I guess I’m back on the hamster wheel, but with a better mentality of that it’s allowed to kind of have mental struggles or mental, tougher days mentally, and tennis is not just about hitting the balls well or being quick around the court, but it’s also a very, very mindful game.”
