“I overreacted, but it’s a valid question” – Ruud on exchange with umpire after fan disturbance
Casper Ruud made time to think over his views on fans trying to interrupt players, but still feels something ought to be done
Casper Ruud at the Mutua Madrid Open 2025 (Zuma/PSnewz)
Amidst a battling performance on Spanish clay, Casper Ruud suggested that players could potentially be penalised for their fans’ disruptive behaviour.
On court and in his post-match press conference after beating Francisco Cerundolo to reach the Mutua Madrid Open final, the Norwegian wondered whether fans would try to disturb or distract players if they knew that there could be repercussions for their favourite.
“I felt that the cheers were for Francisco, which is obviously not illegal, it’s just a question of timing of it,” he explained to journalists.
“Let’s say I redid my routine and I was about to serve again, and [the fan] would do it again, like what’s the protocol there? Like, how many times is a fan or someone from the crowd kind of allowed to disturb the player before I’m kind of allowed to react back?
“I asked the umpire a hypothetical question, you know: ‘If you were to give me a first serve for me complaining, you think he would do it again?’ Probably not, because he’s cheering for Francisco, and if the player he’s cheering for is punished with me getting a first serve, I don’t think he will have the guts to scream again or clap again or whatever that is that he’s doing to disturb me before my second serve.
“So I’m just kind of asking the question: ‘Maybe you should look at maybe, maybe not changing the rules, but applying some more pressure to fans who are there to heckle or disturb.’
“That’s really harsh for Francisco, because he hasn’t done anything wrong, and I don’t want to, you know, be a douche towards him, but the fans that are in favour for him are trying to disturb me. So if they see that that’s not working, and I’m actually benefiting from them trying to disturb me, I think they wouldn’t do it anymore.”
He added: “It’s a very kind of tricky situation, and I understand that fans are allowed to cheer for whoever they want, but in tennis I feel like there is a somewhat of a kind of unwritten rules of what you do and what you shouldn’t do as a spectator. Majority of the fans, they get it right, but when someone is there to disturb a bit too much, I think it crosses a line.
“So I just kind of asked the question to the umpire, and when you’re in the heat of the moment and you don’t feel like you get a clear answer it’s easy to kind of get even more frustrated. And I maybe overreacted, but I think it was a valid question.”
Ruud – Third time’s a charm
Ruud is into his third ATP Masters 1000 final, although he has never yet won one: “It’s not every day you get to play for these titles. I’ve been in two finals before and lost both, so hopefully there will be another third time is a charm!”
There was some concern over his physical condition following a medical time-out in the first set, and he clarified: “It feels okay. It’s just like rib area, it’s kind of sensitive, and when you have pain there it’s kind of, can get pretty sharp.
“I haven’t done any examination other than my physio took a look at it after and cracked my back up, which kind of felt like a relief. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious, and we will go back to the hotel and treat it and do everything we can to feel even better.”
