Whether golf or tennis, Casper Ruud is playing at the top of his game these days.
On Tuesday in his pre-match interview, the No. 5 seed told an ESPN television audience that he had shot an 80 at the historic Winged Foot Golf Club in nearby Westchester County a few days earlier. Founded more than a 100 years ago, the famed course plays to par 72 and has been host to six US Open men’s championships and two US Open women’s tournaments.
Ruud then went out in Arthur Ashe Stadium and throttled the 2019 US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini in three sets to advance to the US Open semifinals for the first time in his career and keep alive his chances of ascending to world No. 1 at the end of the tournament.
The No. 5 seeded Ruud will now play No. 27 Karen Khachanov on Friday for a spot in Sunday’s championship match. Khachanov knocked out fan favorite Nick Kyrgios in the evening quarterfinal match on Tuesday.
Golf has always been a favorite recreational activity for pro tennis players. Among those past and present players who play include Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, and Steffi Graf. The recently retired former world No.1 Ash Barty is an avid golfer and retired pro Mardy Fish played a PGA Tour tournament this year.
A one or two handicap player, Ruud is so passionate about his game that he has his own Instagram account just to post photos of him playing. The account has more than 5,000 followers.
“I try to play as much as I can, but I don’t play 18 holes the day before a match, because I would like to save my energy for this (tennis),” said Ruud, who was the first Norwegian to reach a Grand Slam final at the French Open this season.
“So it’s something I do a little bit when we are building up to the tournament, I try to play nine or 18 holes here and there if I get the time, but at the same time I’m here to do a job and that is to play tennis, so I can’t look at it as a vacation.”
The 23-year-old Ruud feels that golf has similarities to tennis that makes it appealing for him and others to play.
“I always enjoy a challenge and golf is the same,” said Ruud. “You’re really playing yourself and your own emotions. In tennis you have only splits of a second to react, while golfing you have minutes between your shots.”
Ruud packs his golf clubs often and especially enjoys when the ATP Tour is in Indian Wells, Toronto, Cincinnati, Florida and here in New York.
“You can find golf courses anywhere and so many good ones,” said Ruud. “Indian Wells is a paradise for golf. In New York the northeastern courses are incredible in their own way.
How would Ruud critique his own game?
“I think my strong side when I play well is my drives. Being a tennis player you have some explosiveness in your body, so we tend to hit it quite far, though not quite like the guys on the PGA Tour. If I hit a couple of bombs it can go up to 310 yards, so when I drive it well it kind of builds my whole game. If you drive well you play well, it’s a little bit like this. If I don’t drive well I struggle a lot,” said Ruud.
Like many others, Ruud feels that his bunker play needs a lot of improvement.
“The worst part would be maybe from the sand,” he said. “I don’t feel too comfortable in the sand, it’s frustrating to see on TV how good they are from the bunkers and the sand because it looks so easy but I guess the sand in Norway is a bit different from over here. It rains a lot in Norway so I never really went into practice too many bunker shots in golf. But if I could choose one shot to be better at in golf it would be from the sand.”
His father Christian introduced him to golf and the pair frequently play. It's serious business when both take to the course, says Christian.
“It’s still competitive and he likes to play rough with me,” said Chrsitian. “I’m happy about that.”
Golf or tennis these days, Casper Ruud is all aces.
