"Maria and our baby are doing great": Casper Ruud becomes a father after Australian Open campaign

Casper Ruud has experienced one of the most special moments of his personal life after announcing the birth of his daughter, just a few days after finishing his participation at the Australian Open. The Norwegian tennis player shared the news through his social media channels, confirming that both his partner and the baby are in perfect condition, providing an emotional conclusion to a start of the season marked by the expectation of becoming a father.

The Norwegian had in fact arrived at the Australian Open announcing that there was the possibility that, if the birth of his child were to be brought forward — and he was still competing in the tournament — Ruud would withdraw from the event in order to travel.

“Thank you for all your beautiful messages over the past two weeks. Maria and our baby are doing very well,” he wrote, visibly moved by the outpouring of support he received.

Ruud was eliminated from the Australian Open on January 26, which allowed him to travel and be present for the birth of his daughter a few days later. The Norwegian thus closed his run in Melbourne without the sporting result he had hoped for, but with the peace of mind of being able to experience a key moment away from the courts. The news was met with numerous messages of affection from fans and colleagues on tour - including Rafael Nadal, Tommy Paul, Alex De Minaur, Jakub Mensik, Holger Rune

In his message, Ruud thanked everyone for the support received over the past few weeks and highlighted that both his wife and the baby are “doing very well”. The couple had announced the pregnancy in September of last year, generating a wave of congratulations and turning fatherhood into one of the most talked-about topics surrounding the player during the end of the 2025 season and the beginning of 2026.

The Norwegian did not hide at the time how difficult it was to manage such a demanding start to the year on a sporting level while preparing for such an important change in his personal life. However, he always made it clear that family would be above any competitive commitment if the situation required it.

During the weeks leading up to the first Grand Slam of the year, Ruud had publicly acknowledged that fatherhood could alter his sporting plans. He even went as far as assuring that he would leave Melbourne immediately if the birth were brought forward, regardless of the stage of the tournament he was in. In the end, the calendar seemed to align perfectly for the current World No. 13.

“At any stage before (the final weekend) I’ll jump on any flight,” Ruud said at his first press conference of the tournament. “I’ve given everything I can to this sport, but there is more to life than just tennis. We have accepted that, if she goes into labour, I most likely won’t be able to be there during the process, but I want to be there as soon as I can and don’t want to risk staying here playing match after match until I’m two days away.”

“That’s going to be the call, and as long as I don’t get the call and I can step out onto the court knowing everything is fine at home, I’ll give it my all and see how long I can stay.”

The three-time Grand Slam runner-up reached the fourth round — defeating Mattia Bellucci, Jaume Munar and Marin Čilić along the way — but eventually fell to eighth seed Ben Shelton. After being eliminated in Melbourne on Monday, January 26, he quickly travelled back to Norway to accompany his wife.

After this special pause, Ruud plans to resume activity on the ATP Tour in the coming weeks, beginning his run of tournaments with renewed motivation. His next scheduled event is the Dallas Open — which starts on February 9 — and it remains to be seen whether the Norwegian will ultimately travel to North America in the coming days, or instead take an additional week off at home.