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Former World No. 2 Casper Ruud has admitted to making a mistake in his plans for the 2023 season. The Norwegian gave his usual pre-season break a miss in order to play a few exhibition matches with Rafael Nadal in late November, which he now feels wasn't ideal.
Ruud stretched his 2022 season to December as he signed up for a trip to South America to face off against Nadal in a couple of exhibition matches. The 24-year-old kicked off his 2023 campaign without much of a pre-season break, participating in the inaugural United Cup.
Ruud then played the ASB Classic and the Australian Open, following which he took a short break. He returned to the tour in late February to play the Mexican Open.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Estoril Open, the former US Open finalist spoke about how his season wasn't going according to plan.
"My season is naturally not going the way I would like. If that was because of my second pre-season in February and the fact that I played all those exhibitions with Nadal, I can't guarantee it. We will never know," Casper Ruud said.
The World No. 4 further admitted that he made a mistake in ditching the usual pre-season break after the ATP Finals in 2022. He added that playing the 2023 United Cup within a few days of him playing the ATP Finals was tough for him to manage.
"I don't think I'll do what I did in 2022 again in 2023, but it hasn't been easy to manage my schedule, because I've been playing in the ATP Finals (I went to the semi-finals in 2021 and the final in 2022) and then the United Cup starts early too much for me," Ruud said.
"It's less than a month and I can't miss that contest. My other teammates depend on me and if I don't go they can't play," he added.
"I'm very motivated and happy to be here, it's my favorite part of the season" - Casper Ruud excited to make his debut in the Estoril Open
Casper Ruud had a stellar 2022 season, reaching the finals of two Grand Slams - the French Open and the US Open. He also attained a career-high ranking of No. 2.
However, Ruud has yet to recreate his 2022 form this season. He recently lost in the round of 32 at the Miami Open, and will now take part at the Estoril Open for the first time in his career.
Speaking at a pre-tournament press conference, Ruud stated that he was excited to play on clay for the first time since July last year. He also expressed his happiness at being able to play near his "home."
"I'm very motivated and happy to be here. It's my favorite part of the season, we're close to home, you play on clay. I haven't played on the surface since July, I must be rusty, but I have a few days to prepare and I'm excited," the 24-year-old said.
Ruud's last outing on clay was at the 2022 Swiss Open, where he beat Matteo Berrettini to win the title.
