"I just tried my best to cheer her up": Casper Ruud shares reason behind sending supportive message to Iga Swiatek after Madrid Open semifinal defeat

Norway’s Casper Ruud has revealed the reason behind sending a supporting message to Poland’s Iga Swiatek. The 26-year-old sent a supportive message to women’s world number two after she suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the semifinal of the Madrid Open to America’s Coco Gauff in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-1.

The defeat was a hard one for Swiatek, who has not won a title since lifting the French Open in 2024. This year, she has not even managed to cement a spot in the final of any event despite featuring in seven of them. Interestingly, she appeared in the quarterfinals of every competition and even played in the semifinal on four occasions, but in every one of them, she came second-best.

“Hey @iga_swiatek keep your head up🙏🙏 Like millions of other people I love watching you play. Not your day today, but you inspire so many, and you’ll be back stronger than ever!!” he wrote while resharing a video in which Swiatek burst into tears during the match with a towel on her face.

Ruud became the first Norwegian player to win an ATP 1000 event after beating Britain’s Jack Draper in the final of the Madrid Open with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. He talked to the media after the match and revealed that he sent a supportive message to Swiatek because, in his opinion, she needed support right now.

“I went online and I saw this video of her where she looked devastated on court…it felt like she needs some support so I just tried my best to cheer her up,” he said. “I think she’s an incredible player. Not only her, I think the women’s tennis is cool to watch these days - Sabalenka dominating, Iga has won 5 slams in her young career, Coco is there at number 3 and so on..”