Casper Ruud enjoys playing tennis on clay, but that’s not true for grass, as he’s not fond of it and prefers to play golf on it.
The grass is a unique surface that isn’t featured at many events. It is, however, featured at the most famous tennis event in the world, Wimbledon, which is the most prestigious tennis event.
Americans might prefer the US Open, Australians the Australian Open, and the French the French Open, but overall, Wimbledon does stand at the top as the pinnacle of tennis for many players.
It’s often quoted as the dream by many players, and part of that is the exclusivity of grass. There are only a handful of grass events during the year, and a large part of players never really learn how to play well on it.
Ruud certainly didn’t, as somebody who mostly grew up on clay and learned to love that surface the most. He’s well aware of the prestige of Wimbledon but doesn’t particularly enjoy playing on grass.
It’s not a huge secret, nor did he ever hide it, even joking about it, that grass is ultimately for golf, which is another sport he enjoys playing in his free time. As a keen golfer, Ruud plays it often, and this year, he will play golf to prepare for Wimbledon.
He jokingly said that his Wimbledon preparation would simply be him playing a lot of golf because that’s what’s going to get him used to being on grass.
"I think grass is for golf players. My preparation for Wimbledon is pretty much just playing golf before the tournament. I feel more comfortable on the golf course than on grass courts for now, but let's see if it will change."
When it comes to real practice time on a grass tennis court, it's unlikely to happen before Wimbledon itself for the Norwegian player.