Casper Ruud applauds ATP Tour after they announce change for clay court season in 2025

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Casper Ruud is one of the most dangerous clay court players on the ATP Tour.

Consistently a top-ten player, Ruud has impressed over recent years, reaching a career-high of second in the world back in 2022.

The Norwegian ATP Tour star is primarily a clay-court specialist, winning most of his titles on the surface.

Ruud lost to Jakub Mensik in the second round of the Australian Open earlier this year, as he was upset in four sets by the Czech youngster.

Following a tough defeat in Melbourne, Ruud traveled to Texas for the Dallas Open, where he has made a strong start in the Lone Star State.

After Ruud beat James Duckworth in the first round, he took down home favorite Michael Mmoh in the second, to advance to the quarter-finals where he will take on Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.

A rare title on hard courts could be on the cards for Ruud this week, although he is already looking forward to returning to his favored clay, especially after the ATP Tour’s most recent announcement.

Casper Ruud says ‘Bravo’ to the ATP Tour as they introduce ‘Live Electronic Line Calling’ on clay

In a video on their YouTube channel, the ATP Tour has announced that they will be using electronic line calling for the 2025 clay court season.

In the video they explain the reasoning behind the move, claiming that they will now ‘know for certain if it’s [the ball] in or out’, and that the technology is ‘more accurate than the human eye’.

Ruud quickly took to social media to share his thoughts on the decision.

“Bravo,” he said.

“No arguments this coming spring then.”

Ruud was joined by several fans, who seemed to be in favor of the move.

“People who still prefer line judges over electronic line calling are weird,” said one fan on X.

“No matter the cons of the ELC [Electronic Line Calling], it is still superior to line judges and it is good for the progress of tennis.

“A player shouldn’t be losing matches based on human errors in this age.”

“Fantastic news,” said another fan.

“This should happen everywhere, at every ATP Tour event,” added one tennis fan.

“Excellent, no more matches ruined by line judges,” said another.

Not all fans were happy, however, as some suggested that the decision further alienated the sport from it’s ‘traditional’ values.

“Stop killing the interest in the game,” said one unhappy fan on X.

“Taking more of the humanity out of the game,” added another.

On the other hand, some are hopeful they have now seen the last of players arguing over line calls.

“Amazing, the pointless arguments get really tiresome after a while,” said one fan.

Players have often disagreed with umpires and their opposition over clay court line calls, with one notable incident taking place in the 2023 Italian Open quarter-final match between Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic.

The Danish star stopped the point, as he thought Djokovic’s return was long before the umpire, Mohamed Lahyani inspected the mark and told him it was in.

Furious with the decision, Rune can be heard shouting, ‘How can you call this ball in?’ during a changeover.

Rune managed to put the incident behind him, pulling off a surprising win over Djokovic to advance to the semi-finals in Rome.

Casper Ruud’s remarkable clay court record

The clay court season may still be a few months away, but that won’t stop Ruud from looking forward to returning to the surface that has seen him enjoy so much success in recent years.

The 26-year-old has won 12 ATP titles during his career to date, most of which have come on the clay.

Just once has Ruud won a tour-level title on a surface other than clay, at the 2021 San Diego Open, where he beat British star Cameron Norrie, 6-0, 6-2.

His clay court prowess can also be seen at the Major tournaments, as Ruud has impressed at the French Open over the last three years.

• 2022 – Lost in F to Rafael Nadal
• 2023 – Lost in F to Novak Djokovic
• 2024 – Lost in SF to Alexander Zverev

When tennis heads to Paris, Ruud is one of the most dangerous players around, reaching the final four in each of the past three seasons.

The Norwegian lost in two finals, to two of the greatest players of all time, and gave a good account of himself in a straight-set defeat to Djokovic in 2023.

Having won just six games all match one year earlier against Rafael Nadal, Ruud battled hard against Djokovic, losing 6-7, 3-6, 5-7, on Court Philippe Chatrier.

He’ll be dangerous once again in 2025, as he no doubt hopes to go one better and pick up his first Grand Slam title on the Parisian clay.

The 2025 French Open is set to begin on Sunday, May 25.