Follow us on Google Discover Casper Ruud’s hot run of form was brought to a halt after he was forced to retire due to injury at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.
The Norwegian has enjoyed an impressive start to the indoor hard-court season, following a tough finish to his Asian swing.
He called an end to his opening match at the Shanghai Masters against Zizou Bergs with another injury setback, but recovered in time for the Stockholm Open, where Ruud clinched his second title of the season.
Ruud dropped just one set throughout the tournament in Stockholm, beating Ugo Humbert comfortably in the final.
Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images
In Basel, the world number 11 was off to a strong start, besting both Quentin Halys and Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.
Against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the quarterfinals, however, Ruud’s body failed him once again.
Casper Ruud updates fans on his injury after exiting Basel
After losing the first set to the Spaniard in a tiebreak, Ruud made the decision to retire from the contest and exit the Swiss Indoors event.
The day after, he took to social media to give an update on his injury and issue an apology to the fans in Basel.
In a post on Instagram, Ruud said: “Not the ending I hoped for in Basel, but congrats to Alejandro.”
“Sorry to the fans, sometimes you just have to listen to your body. Time to recover and get ready for Paris.”
Casper Ruud’s draw at the upcoming Paris Masters
Ruud will hope for a lengthy campaign at the Paris Masters, having never made it past the quarterfinals in six attempts.
His best finish came in 2021, when he made the last eight before losing to Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
This year, he has a favourable path to the semifinals, with his most likely quarterfinal opponent coming in the form of Felix Auger-Aliassime, who also recently suffered an injury in Basel.
Carlos Alcaraz stands in his way; however, should Ruud progress to the final four, with his Laver Cup teammate leading their head-to-head 5-1.
Ruud’s time in Paris will be about more than just the title, though, as there is still a chance he can qualify for the ATP Finals.
He is currently 11th in the ‘Race to Turin’ and could close the gap on the likes of Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti with a strong run.