Casper Ruud is among the ATP stars continuing their seasons this week in London for the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) Grand Final.
Ruud had hoped for more this season, during which he claimed two titles on the ATP Tour, taking his career tally to 14.
He won the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid and in Stockholm, with Ruud finishing 12th in the ATP year-end rankings.
The Norwegian, who once climbed as high as second in the world rankings, won 39 matches and lost 16 on the ATP tour in 2025.
Casper Ruud claims his controversial grass-court claim was misunderstood
His focus is now on the hard courts of UTS London, where he was asked on the Tennis Weekly Podcast if he would still play the event if it was on grass.
Ruud replied: “Oh I think so. I mean, why not? I think my one joke about grass was kind of misunderstood a bit.
“I was more referring to my own level on grass, which is not very good. And of course I hope it can be better in the future. But it’s a really fun surface to play on.
“And you know grass and clay is kind of where tennis started and they’re the most historical surfaces, so I really enjoy my time even though it’s not that long when I go to Wimbledon typically, but maybe one year it can change.”
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What exactly did Casper Ruud say about grass courts?
Ruud was referring to his comments on grass courts after he reached the final of the Miami Open in 2022.
When intriguingly asked if he thinks it’s for cows, the Norwegian star responded: “I think grass is for golf players.
“My preparation for Wimbledon is pretty much just playing golf 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.
“I mean, I try to take it obviously serious, because I think if you ask people around the world if they know about a Grand Slam, I think the majority would say Wimbledon because it has such a big reputation around the world.
“And I know a lot of players would probably pick Wimbledon if they had to choose one Grand Slam to win.
“I obviously see that with all the tradition and it’s really fun to be there, but I just haven’t felt comfortable. I think it’s the ball that makes it a little bit tough for me, because I just haven’t been able to feel it well in my strings yet.
“So that’s a little bit of an issue for me so far, but I will keep trying and play maybe a couple of other grass court events this year to try to be ready for Wimbledon. The plan is to play Queen’s this year and see if I can get into the London grass court spirit.”
What has been the biggest shock of the 2025 season?
Wimbledon has indeed continuously been the player’s greatest struggle in terms of Grand Slam performances.
The 26-year-old has reached US Open and French Open finals, along with the fourth round of the Australian Open.
But remarkably Ruud has never made it beyond the second round of Wimbledon, having made five main draw appearances.
Ruud dreams of being a professional golfer, but ironically he may have to improve his ability on grass-court surfaces to fulfil that dream one day.
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