Casper Ruud has fallen at the first hurdle in his last two appearances on the ATP Tour.
Ruud reached the Semi-Finals of the French Open earlier this year and won his first ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona on his favored clay courts.
Ruud finished as runner-up to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte-Carlo, another strong result for the Norwegian, but as the season progressed, results quickly worsened.
He was knocked out of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open all before the Quarter-Final stage, and has failed to win a title away from clay for a third consecutive season.
The Asian swing has been particularly poor for Ruud who was dumped out of the Tokyo and Shanghai first rounds, in straight sets.
As with his volatile hobby, however, Ruud’s fortunes could change at any moment.
What is Casper Ruud’s unique hobby?
Away from the court, Ruud spends his time investing in real estate and stocks.
Consulting with Christian Ruud, who acts as dad, coach, and investment partner, Ruud has spent a lot of time getting to know the stock markets.
Moving away from American shares, due to a recently introduced tax, Ruud now sticks to his native Oslo Stock Exchange.
In an interview with magazine Di Weeknd ahead of the upcoming Stockholm Open, Ruud spoke of a recent investment blunder.
“I’ve taken a couple of big hits in stocks like Kahoot and Nykode Therapeutics, which have gone down a lot lately.
“I was there for the whole trip up, but also the whole trip down,” said Ruud.
The Norwegian is comfortable with the risk, however, and enjoys the thrills of trading.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a fantastic stock investor, but I think it’s fun and exciting.”
Can Casper Ruud end his season on a high?
After disappointments on and off the court, the Norwegian will look to bounce back in the coming weeks with his sights firmly set on the ATP Finals in Turin.
Ruud is currently sat in seventh in the Race to Turin but will need to score some crucial points in the next month or so to hold off the likes of Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur, and Grigor Dimitrov who are leading the chasing pack.
Poor results at the back end of 2023, meant that Ruud missed out on the season-ending finals, an event which he has reached the Semi-Finals and Final in his two appearances to date.
Scheduled to play in Stockholm, Basel, Paris, and Metz, Ruud is giving himself plenty of opportunities to pick up the points needed to qualify for this year’s ATP Finals.
Ruud will return to action against Lorenzo Sonego in Stockholm on Wednesday.
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