"In my eyes, it's too late": Casper Ruud admits difficulty in altering tennis style at 25 after ATP Finals defeat

Norway’s Casper Ruud believes that now he is too old to change his gameplay style. The 25-year-old recently participated in the ATP Finals in Turin where his journey came to an end in the semifinal after losing to reigning world number one Italy’s Jannik Sinner in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-2.

It was his third semifinal defeat this year. Earlier, he lost in the semifinal of the Estoril Open where he came second best against Spain’s Pedro Martinez with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. He then also lost in the last-four clash of the French Open where the reigning world number two Germany’s Alexander Zverev emerged victorious with a score of 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

Ruud was later quoted the defeat in Turin in a report by the Tennis.com where he talked about how difficult it was to play against arguably the best player in the world. The three-time Grand Slam winner further also talked about why he struggles while playing on hard court surface. Rudd was also of the opinion that he is ‘too old’ to change his game going forward.

“Against someone like Jannik, it's something missing, definitely felt today and something I will know next time I play him,” he said. “In my eyes, it's too late to change what kind of player I am at this point. I'm 25. The structure of my game is already there. I'm not going to start playing super flat or different style of tennis now. I've definitely been kind of shaped by watching a lot of Rafa tennis. Also Domi (Thiem). He's been the closest to Rafa, the way he played on clay. I really loved watching those guys play. I find that way of playing tennis really nice. I like it myself. But the majority of the season is played on hard court, a faster surface. It is a game style that is kind of vulnerable to hard-hitters, fast players.”