"It needs to stop, there has been 2, 3 cases now within a month so it's reckless behavior in a way" - Casper Ruud on player outbursts

Casper Ruud discussed the recent spate of angry outbursts on tour in the first episode of his podcast, Ruud Talk.

Citing the racket smashing incidents involving Nick Kyrgios in Indian Wells and Jenson Brooksby in Miami which nearly hit ball boys, the World No. 7 said that the penalty for such instances should depend on how the ball boys would react.

"I think it matters a little bit on how the boy ball reacts so it's in the ball boy's hands in a way, what the penalty should be. Because if the ball boy says he's fine, which happened with Brooksby, because I guess the hit wasn't very hard. It kind of just slid toward his leg," said Casper Ruud.

"I think those two cases, even though they looked very bad, were a bit unfortunate and, in a way, unlucky because I don't think Nick intentionally hit his racket to the ground to try to bounce it up," the Norwegian added.

Ruud, however, opined that such actions should be stopped as they bring negative attention to the sport.

"I think it needs to stop. There has been two, three cases now within a month so it's reckless behavior in a way. It's not something I wish to see but at the same time it kind of brings attention to the sport just in a negative way," said Casper Ruud.

He also touched on the players' disrespectful demeanor towards umpires, saying that the officials are doing their best and should be forgiven for human errors – the same way that players commit mistakes.

"Most of the time, the umpires, they just do their best job anytime they can. Sometimes, you need to just accept that some human errors will be made because all the players, they do errors themselves. It's the same as why should the umpire criticize you because you miss a forehand?" said Ruud.

The Norwegian, who reached his maiden Masters 1000 final in Miami and lost against Carlos Alcaraz, believes that there should be stricter rules and stiffer punishments for on-court misbehavior.

"If you look back in history, you would see these kinds of players, they reach far and they win big titles" - Casper Ruud on Carlos Alcaraz

Casper Ruud congratulates Carlos Alcaraz after their final in Miami.

Among the topics discussed on Casper Ruud's podcast debut was his Miami Open opponent Carlos Alcaraz. Ruud said that the 18-year-old Spaniard is one of the rarest talents who can win big titles.

"He is one of the new rare talents that you don't see that often. If you look back in history you would see these kinds of players, they reach far and they win big titles," Ruud said.

Ruud also thinks that Alcaraz has a good team behind him, led by coach and former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who could mold him into the next best in men's tennis.

"I think from Juan Carlos' perspective, it would be fun. His goal is to probably produce another World No. 1, like a junior version of himself," said Ruud.