The Casper Ruud Effect explained: How the tennis star got Norway serving

A phenomenon is sweeping Norway. A ground swell that has seen people across the nation dust off tennis racquets and stockpile fluorescent yellow balls. At the centre of this movement is tennis boy wonder Casper Ruud, a 23-year-old whose tousled sandy waves, broad smile and laser-beam forehand is changing the course of the country’s sporting history every time he steps onto the court. “There is a tennis boom in Norway,” his manager Tina Falster tells me. “We refer to it as ‘The Casper Ruud Effect’.” She isn’t exaggerating; in a swift three years the racquet and ball game has become the fastest growing sport in the country with membership to Norwegian Tennis up 30 per cent.

“I’m not sure if it’s entirely due to my results,” says a humble Ruud who, when I speak to him, is about to board a plane to South America with tennis legend Rafael Nadal. The pair are playing a string of exhibition matches throughout the continent to promote the sport. “But if more young Norwegian boys and girls can dream about being tennis players in the future then I’m happy about that.” It’s a fitting statement, given that his own career started with a dream and the idolisation of the man he’s currently sitting next to.

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“I remember watching Rafa win his first Roland Garros and first Grand Slam,” he says. “From that moment I started dreaming about being on TV one day and playing at that court and that tournament.” But this isn’t just a story of a wide-eyed boy who got lucky. Ruud had the grit and talent, not to mention the pedigree – his father Christian Ruud was Norway’s best tennis player before passing the baton to his son – to make it happen. “It was just a dream [at the start], but as time has gone by that dream has become more of a goal,” he says. “And I’ve become closer and closer to that goal.”

‘Close to that goal’ is a modest interpretation. Ruud has more than surpassed it. In fact, in describing his trajectory it’s hard not to speak in bombastic platitudes. Last year, he repeatedly made history. At the French Open, he became the first Norwegian man to reach a Grand Slam final (he fell in straight sets to Nadal). Then, on September 12th, he reached world number two, making him the highest-ranked Norwegian male tennis player ever. “What can I say?” he says, almost meekly. “It’s been a year that I will remember for a long time.”

On the day we speak he has just played the 2022 ATP final against Novak Djokovic in Turin, Italy. He lost to the 21-time Grand Slam winner, but it secured him a ranking of world number three, an incredible achievement for a boy who grew up in a country where winter sports and football were put on pedestals over tennis. “Norway is not a very big tennis country,” he explains. “Lots of people enjoy playing it in the summertime but it’s not very typical to strive for a professional career in tennis.”

One of Ruud’s earliest memories is of his dad, turning the family patio into a tennis court. Christian has been his head coach ever since. “My father loved taking me along to sports like tennis, golf, football, anything that involved a ball, really,” says Ruud. “From there a love for sports in general but, especially, tennis grew on me.” At an early age, Christian decided his son’s
forehand would be his ‘secret sauce’. Sports commentators often remark how ridiculously good it is, generating a force so large it almost drags his body along with it.

“The forehand starts with power from his legs, a long swing and a quick rotation of the wrist. [It] makes his opponents very uncomfortable,” explains his other coach, Pedro Clar-Rosselló. Ruud elaborates on its significance: “My father realised that in modern tennis everyone needs to have a big weapon. When you’re starting out, it feels more natural hitting either with a forehand or a backhand. For me, it was always the forehand so a plan was devised to develop a big, aggressive, kill shot.”

Ruud refers to himself as a baseline player. “I don’t come to the net too often and I don’t have a big serve,” he says. “So with the baseline I’m more comfortable.” His shots also have a lot of topspin, making his game better suited for clay courts. Even though Ruud talks of kill shots and annihilating competitors with aggressive moves, such language is a far cry from his mild, almost self -effacing demeanour. As we talk he oozes charm, but not in a show-y sense. Rather, charm manifests in an unassuming grace, one that Norwegian Tennis Federation’s CEO Aslak Paulsen believes is just as powerful as any forehand.

While he acknowledges that Ruud’s rising rankings have impacted the sport’s growth in Norway, at the same time he believes his sportsmanship can’t be underestimated. “Casper's empathic and polite behaviour on and off court have been extremely important,” he says. “In that sense, Casper is way more than a player. He’s an important role model for setting the right culture.” In a sport where on-court antics and emotions can often garner the most attention, you could say that Ruud is one of the quietest voices in the room.

“I play tennis not because I want to be the biggest showman or to hit the most beautiful shots,” he says. “I just want to try to win the match that I play. I’m very serious and all business.” Clar-Rosselló agrees. “What makes Casper stand out from other players is his mental part,” he says. “He is a very stable player on an emotional level which allows his results to be consistent throughout a long season.”

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While they say you should never meet your heroes, meeting Nadal has been literally game-changing for Ruud. In recent years, the tennis icon has become a mentor, competitor and friend. Joining the Rafa Nadal Academy in 2018 was a turning point in Ruud’s journey. Clar-Rosselló, who is also a coach for the academy, explains that it was a strategic move to have another training facility in addition to his base in Norway. It was also a way to “learn everything that Rafa represents”.

For Ruud, it has been the injection of confidence and motivation his career needed. “When I got there, I was ranked around 130 in the world, below players I’d done much better than at a similar age and I felt I was behind,” he explains. “Then at the academy Uncle Toni [Nadal’s legendary coach] came to some of my practices and told me I had good potential. He’s seen so much tennis and seen Rafa perform all of his career, so I thought when he talks I should listen.”

Ruud has arrived on the scene at an invigorating time in tennis history. The men’s competition is on the precipice of change. After nearly 24 years at the top, Roger Federer has just retired, leaving room for a new generation biting at the old guard’s heels. “In the last 18, 19 years or so, it’s pretty much been only three players who have almost won everything,” says Ruud referring to Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. “Now it’s beginning to be a little bit more open. From the age group of 19 to 26 years old, there are so many players and it seems we can all beat each other on any given day. It means it really could be anyone’s game and that’s really exciting.”

He, however, by no means underestimates the staying power of these beloved players. “Rafa and Novak are still so great, they won three out of four grand slams in 2022. So they are still here,” says Ruud. “They are still around and are showing the younger ones they are still on top.”

Despite a childhood spent looking up to these sporting icons and holding them, like many others do, in God-like regard, Ruud didn’t really think about the celebrity part of the package. “Growing up, I didn’t know that if you become very, very good you will also get a lot of fame,” he says. At the moment, however, he’s found it “a nice thing that people are watching me, giving me credit and cheering me on”. A surreal moment came in September last year when he was invited to the Vogue World fashion show in New York. He’d played the US Open finals the day before and it was the first time he’d been surrounded by fashion’s elite. The irony was, however, that the attendees all knew him. “I had no idea that many celebrities or other sports people watch the US Open final. But apparently they do,” he says.

This led to a handful of notable encounters. American basketball player Russell Westbrook came up and congratulated him on the run and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who is a long time friend of Federer and a big tennis fan, introduced herself before the show, saying she had been to his matches. “They are just two examples of people that I know who are big, big stars in what they do, but they took the time to come up to me and congratulate me,” he says, bewildered, adding, “Oh, and Tom Hiddleston.” That last one was especially resonant for the Norwegian player. “He’s an actor that I watched a lot because I love Marvel movies. He obviously plays Loki. And Loki is part of Norse mythology so that was a grand experience when I met him.”

If tennis is his sport, Marvel might just be his passion. Asking Ruud to name his favourite Avenger is akin to watching a kid pick an ice-cream flavour. “I think Thor is great. Chris [Hemsworth] plays the role so well and, especially, the first movie, when you sort of get to know him, it’s so cool. Then there is Iron Man as well. Oh, it’s just too tough to pick one...” he trails off. As he talks you can see his drive isn’t just limited to tennis – it’s something that’s innate to his being. If he likes something, he’s all in. Case in point: in the lead up to Marvel’s 2019 release of Avengers: Endgame, he watched all the films in the correct chronological timeline to ensure he was across every bit of the narrative and on top of every Easter egg. He admits he was so excited to go to the cinema it was “almost emotional” when the credits rolled.

Another passion is golf. But unlike your average casual player, Ruud is very, very good at his hobbies. He’s one of those guys. In fact, he had a fork-in-the-road moment at around 12 years old, where he had to choose between golf and tennis after showing a natural talent for both. Covid, however, afforded him time to reunite with the sport, even spurring a dedicated Instagram account, @Casper_Golfer. “Because I am into golf, I like watching videos and pictures of players and getting news updates about tournaments, so it made sense to have a separate golf account,” he says. With its healthy following, the account is a way to satisfy his golf itch and showcase some of the incredible courses around the world he’s able to visit when he has a quick break between tennis matches. “It’s just fun to take some pictures and videos,” he says, speaking like a true Gen Zer.

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For this photoshoot, Ruud headed to Norway ’s swanky new hotel Sommerro in Oslo. Despite his Tom Holland-esque boyish good looks and a trim yet muscular physique, he says it was tough “to find myself very comfortable in that situation”. Still, true to form, he “tried [his] best”. When it comes to his own personal style you are unlikely to catch him in a powder blue Hugo Boss suit or cut-out denim, but he is open to making his wardrobe more experimental. “When I buy clothes to wear in my private, personal life, I obviously think about what I would like them to say, but there’s so much more exploring of the fashion world I could do,” he admits. Consider these images a mere amuse-bouche of Ruud’s future off-court style.

While a fashion shoot might feel out of the realm of tennis, if you look back in history the sport has had a spectacular impact on men’s fashion. Players like Björn Borg, Fred Perry and René Lacoste have gone on to create well-regarded brands from their on-court fashions. Federer’s panache for pink shirts led fans to hold placards with the words “Real men wear pink” at his matches, while a pre-2009 Nadal made (or attempted to make) ‘pirate’ pants a thing.

“What’s fun with tennis, and also golf, is that they are some of the biggest sports in the world where you can actually make your own sort of uniform,” Ruud muses. “You can really choose your sort of vibe, the colours and, if you’re lucky, you can work with your sponsor on coming up with pieces that feel like you.” Ruud is often spotted in bold prints and colour blocking but jokes that a cotton that can absorb a set’s worth of sweat is most important for him. “If you dress well, you feel well and if you feel well there is the likelihood that you’ll play well too,” he says. “I think it’s a big part of our identity.”

Another clue to Ruud’s identity is his player’s box. If you look at the crowd during a Ruud match, you’ll notice it is often brimming with family; his dad coaches, his mum organises his travel schedule and his aunt has taken on the role of manager. Even his grand mothers join the entourage when they can. He cites his youngest sister Charlotte, who also plays and attends the Rafa Nadal Academy, as his big gest fan along with his girlfriend Maria. “The fact she’s able to deal with all the time that I need to spend on my career and still patiently wait at home, I’m thankful for her,” he says.

Given that his career saw him living out of a suitcase for 280 days last year, looking up at the box and seeing his very involved family, gives him a sense of calm and belonging. “It’s a sort of way to feel at home when you’re not at home,” he says. His tiresome schedule means he misses the Norwegian “food and people” but what he craves most is aptly a spot to dream new dreams. “My own bed is very, very soft. I just love going to bed whenever I arrive home, I don’t get that feeling anywhere else.”