“A rat race… forcing players to show up injured” – Ruud calls out ATP’s point system after Roland-Garros exit
Casper Ruud criticised the men’s tennis governing body after finishing his injury-affected European clay swing with second-round loss in the Paris Major
© Julien Nouet / Tennis Majors
Casper Ruud‘s 2025 Roland-Garros journey ended Wednesday with a dramatic loss and a lengthy press conference, where he called out ATP’s ranking points and mandatory tournaments system.
Ruud beat Spain’s Albert Ramos Vinolas in straight sets on Monday to open his campaign and cruised through the first set against Portuguese Nuno Borges in the second round. But it soon emerged he was playing with an injured left knee as Borges shifted gears.
The Norwegian somehow pushed on but ended on the wrong side of a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 result. He later revealed he’s been carrying the injury since the Monte-Carlo Masters.
“I had a scan during Madrid actually, in the beginning of the tournament. I felt it the first time in Monte-Carlo. So it’s been with me actually the whole clay season on and off,” Ruud said in his post-match presser.
“You feel like you lose a lot if you don’t show up and play…I’m just looking forward to not being on painkillers.”@CasperRuud98 on pressure to play RG despite struggling with knee pain ❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/wkUXeTvwcv
— TENNIS (@Tennis) May 28, 2025
He further explained that he kept travelling on the tour despite the inconvenience in order to comply with ATP’s mandatory event program and avoid penalties, meanwhile condemning the strict rules.
“Well, it’s kind of like a rat race when it comes to the rankings, as well,” Ruud added. “You feel you’re obligated to play with certain rules that the ATP have set up with the mandatory events. You feel like you lose a lot if you don’t show up and play, both economically, point-wise, ranking-wise and opportunity-wise.
“Also there’s a certain bonus system set up that is reduced if you don’t show up to the mandatory events. It’s a questionable system because on one hand you don’t want to show up injured, and you maybe give the spot to other one. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but if you don’t play a mandatory event, they cut 25 percent of your year-end bonus. You’re kind of forcing players to show up injured or sick, or whatever, when that is not what I think is very fair.”
scope of injury — “the scan didn’t show any structural damage”
Ruud seemed less worried about the damage and stressed only a few movements have been causing him discomfort.
“It’s hopefully nothing too serious,” the two-time finalist in Paris said. “When you’re practicing, leading up to the tournament, it’s easier to avoid certain movements that are painful. It’s not painful. Everything is not painful. But certain movements out there are kind of what makes it painful. Certain shots are painful to do.
“One of the shots that hurts the most is to do, like, sliding on the left foot, an open-stance backhand is what hurts the most, as it’s the left knee. It’s very, very specific. But when you rotate my foot inward, it also hurts a little on the left. That’s kind of the worst shot for me and has been for a few weeks.
As per Ruud, the diagnosis isn’t too concerning but healing would require more than pills.
“The scan didn’t know show any structural damage, which is a good thing. There’s liquid of inflammation in there that needs to settle. As we know, it’s a hectic clay season, and I decided to kind of push through it doing some anti-inflammatory pills and painkillers to try to get rid of it, which has helped to a certain degree but not enough.”
Uncertain about the grass swing
As the European clay swing nears its conclusion, the development has put Ruud’s grass season in jeopardy and he will need further examination of his knee to make a call.
“I’ll go home and do some more scans as soon as possible and see if there’s anything that has changed,” the Norwegian noted. “But between Rome and here, I took five days completely off at home. It wasn’t enough to make the pain go away.
“I definitely think that I would need more than five days off, then take a status in a week or two, see where I’m at. I wish I could stay here longer. It leaves more time, of course, to recover for upcoming tournaments.”
