Casper Ruud pictured – Photo Patrick Boren
In the early hours of the morning at Roland Garros, while the match between Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti was still underway, Casper Ruud he had already expressed his disappointment at having ended his meeting at 1 am. Subsequently, the Norwegian shared a direct criticism of the world of tennis on his social channels: “Can tennis be considered one of the hardest sports in the world? What other sports make you play/compete for more than 4 hours at 3 in the morning?”, Ruud wonders, explaining why he is still awake. “I just finished my match two hours ago. After that, I have to ride the exercise bike for 15 minutes, respond to the media, take an ice bath for 10 minutes, shower, eat and then undergo treatments/massage. Right now I’m in the treatment phase.”
Ruud’s words raise questions about the long-term sustainability of such a challenging calendar. It remains to be seen whether tournament organizers and tennis authorities will take these concerns into consideration and make changes to ensure player welfare and fairness of competition.
It would be enough to put (as Wimbledon does) an evening suspension time.
Francesco Paolo Villarico
