"I hope my other teammates think it's okay to listen to him" - Casper Ruud jokes about his father Christian captaining Team Norway at United Cup

Team Norway will have two Ruuds at the helm at the United Cup this week, with Casper Ruud leading the side as the No. 1 player and his father Christian captaining the Norwegian contingent.

The 25-year-old doesn't think it is that different from how it is usually for him, seeing as he has always had to listen to his father, who also doubles as his coach on the ATP Tour.

At the same time, Ruud joked that his teammates at the tournament were okay taking orders from his father as well. Christian Ruud is a former ATP player himself, having been ranked as high as World No. 39 at one point and winning as many as 12 titles on the Challenger Tour.

"It's fun. It's normally how it is anyways. I have to listen to him (smiling). As a tennis player, it's interesting, 'cause in a way as a player you are the boss because you hire people for you. You have to listen to the people that you hire. It doesn't always make sense," Casper Ruud said in his pre-tournament press conference at the United Cup.

"Typically the boss who hires, they have to listen to the boss. In our case, my dad is still the boss, and I have to listen. I hope my other teammates think it's okay to listen to him, as well," he jokingly added.

Noway have been drawn alongside Croatia and Netherlands at the 2024 edition of the tournament, where Casper Ruud will be joined by Malene Helgo on the WTA side from his home country.

"If you can win one of the singles matches, everything is going to come down to the mixed doubles" - Casper Ruud

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Casper Ruud also spoke about how he is planning to tackle playing mixed doubles at the United Cup, stating his belief that the category is "fairly open" even though he hasn't played that often.

The former World No. 2 remained confident in his team's ability to reach the knockout stages, remarking that it will be a good challenge for them to play mixed doubles against strong teams like Holland and Croatia.

"It can be lose or win. If you can win one of the singles matches, everything is going to come down to the mixed doubles. I've never played too much mixed doubles, but I think it's fairly open. You see it in the slams. It can be a bit anyone's game," Casper Ruud said.

"I think if we play well, even though we have some strong teams, Holland, they have Koolhof and Schuurs. I forget the name. Croatia as well, they have good players. I think it's a good challenge for us to play mixed doubles," he added.