"Everyone wondered": Casper Ruud shares interesting reason behind skipping Wimbledon in 2025

Norway’s Casper Ruud has shared an interesting reason behind skipping this year’s Wimbledon. The 26-year-old did not feature in the third Grand Slam of the year. It was Ruud’s first absence from a major competition since 2022, when he did not play at the Australian Open.

When it was announced that Ruud would not take part in Wimbledon this year, many attributed that to his dismal record while playing in the competition. Wimbledon remains the only competition where Ruud has not been able to play beyond the second round. In 2024, he was knocked out of the competition after losing in the round of 64 to Italy’s Fabio Fognini with a score of 6-4, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.

It was the third consecutive occasion where Ruud was knocked out after losing in the second round of the competition. Ruud has recently been quoted in a report by Tennis Channel, where he revealed the reason behind not participating in Wimbledon, which was to start his family. Ruud also stated he is not aware of what it would be like to travel the world with a young one in the family.

“That's why I didn't go to Wimbledon [because we were trying to start a family],” said Ruud. “Everyone wondered. No [I have not thought about traveling with a young kind. Honestly, I have not really, no (laughing). Yeah, let's just say I didn't play Wimbledon this year, and it was time to do something different. So we got something special coming this year, yeah. I have to say, yeah (laughing). Did some off-court work, and we're ready for next year, an exciting next year.”

Ruud is having a decent year at the highest level. The 26-year-old has featured in 41 matches in 2025, where he won 29 and suffered just 12 defeats. However, despite those impressive numbers, Ruud’s performance in the Grand Slams was something he would not be proud of. Despite featuring in the main draw of three out of the four Grand Slams, Ruud failed to get past the second round in any one of them.

At the Australian Open, he lost to the Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik in the round of 64 with a score of 6-2,3-6, 6-1, 6-4. At the French Open, Ruud suffered an upset defeat to Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the second round with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0. His most recent appearance was in the US Open, where he suffered a shocking defeat in the second round to Raphael Collignon in a five-set thriller with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Ruud’s next assignment will be the Laver Cup, where he will be representing Team Europe. He will be playing in the tournament opener and going up against Reilly Opelka of Team World. Ruud has a fabulous record against Opelka as he has won in all four meetings at the highest level. However, it will be the first time these two players have faced off since 2022. Opelka did beat Ruud in 2017 during the qualifying round of the Australian Open. Talking about it ahead of the opener, Ruud stated that he is ‘excited’ to start the competition.

“I'm excited to get started tomorrow for the team, and I have some experience doing that in the past,” said Ruud while talking to the media. “I look forward to doing it again, and hopefully get Team Europe off to a good start. [I’m having] fun with some new boys on the team. Three of them are rookies, as we maybe would say in Davis Cup terms, but we can bring it on here. Carlos and Sascha [Zverev] and I will try to guide them and be there for them if they need it, but they're great players, and they'll do just fine I think on the team. Great to have this week around again. It's really fun for everyone.”