'Rafael Nadal is one of the best of all time and my idol,' said Casper Ruud

The 22-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud is currently ranked 25th, improving his game constantly and becoming one of the world's best players on clay and a respectable one on hard courts.

In 2018, Ruud and his family had moved to Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, where he and his sister started full-time courses with Toni Nadal and other established coaches. In 2019, Casper passed some 60 rivals on the ATP list, winning 23 ATP matches and reaching the first ATP final in Houston, alongside a chance to play against Roger Federer at Roland Garros. Working hard on his game, Casper scored some notable hard-court victories in 2020 to crack the top-30 in September and continue his climb towards the top.

Speaking about Rafa in the recent podcast, the Norwegian called him one of the greatest players of all time and his idol. Rafa was the first player Casper watched on TV, wanting to become a professional after that. Having a chance to train with Rafa, Casper said that the 20-time Major champion is a very humble person, despite achieving everything in our sport.

"Rafael Nadal is one of the best of all time. I've been a fan of him ever since I started watching tennis. He's my biggest idol and the one I admired the most among all the players. I remember he was the first one I watched on television.

That's one of the reasons I wanted to make a professional career. Training with him was a great motivation. Even when he's won almost everything, he is extremely humble and works hard today as he did 15 years ago," Casper Ruud said.