Casper Ruud has revealed that he suffered a "lock" in the lower back in his shock second-round exit at the Italian Open but that the condition is "nothing serious."
Ruud was cruising after taking the opening set against his good friend Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0. But the Serb turned the match around as the Norwegian struggled with his serve in the second and third sets.
The fifth seed dropped his serve on four occasions and tallied a high of five double faults. Ruud was troubled by the back problem, as his serve deteriorated significantly during the match.
Speaking to TV 2 after the defeat, the 25-year-old stated that it was not an injury or something that warranted serious attention, but it was not ideal to experience it in a match.
"It's nothing serious, it's not an injury or something I've struggled with. There is a small twist or rotation that causes it to lock completely in the lower part of the back."
It's crazy. Most people who have had a lock or kink in their back know that it is no fun. In tennis, you rotate from side to side all the time, so it is unfavorable to get that in a tennis match."
Ruud is considered one of the top favorites for Roland Garros, especially with the health and form of the sport's most accomplished champions, such as Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Rafael Nadal, so uncertain heading to the clay.
After a seven-match winning streak that saw him win his first-ever ATP 500 title in Barcelona, Ruud has now lost two matches in a row on his beloved surface. He is scheduled to play in Geneva, the last warm-up tournament before the French Open, which begins on May 19th.
However, with this latest setback, it remains to be seen if the three-time Grand Slam finalist will commit to playing in the ATP 250 event in Switzerland.
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