Casper Ruud's 2023 season hasn't gone the way he wanted it to, but he's embracing the down year as part of growth.
Not every year will be good for a tennis player, much like not every event will see him win a trophy. Going up and down in terms of success is pretty expected, as some of the best know very well.
Ruud has been good this year, but he hasn't been as good as many thought he'd be or he himself wanted to be. He'll likely miss the ATP Finals after playing at them in the past two years, but he's embracing the year of struggle as something that will ultimately allow him to become a better player in the future.
It's a very good mindset to have, as defeats should be lessons first and foremost. He detailed some of his thoughts in a recent interview with Tennis Majors.
Last year was incredible for me, finishing at the third spot at the ATP rankings, with a career high at No 2. This year has been challenging in many ways. When you have this ranking you have more expectations on yourself, you think you have chance to play the final or win the trophy every tournament you play.
When you lose early you’re like, ‘What’s going on? Am I worse? Are other players much better?’ It was a season to try to gain experience from competing as a top three or top five member.
The struggle has been annoying for Ruud, who made some bad scheduling mistakes with his calendar, but those are all things that are fixable and mistakes from which he'll learn. He thinks these slaps are needed for growth and it's why he's embracing the struggle.
In a way, it was good to have a couple of slaps in the face to make you realise that everything is not going to go smoothly all the time. You have to work hard for that and of course I gave my best. It’s irritating, frustrating, annoying when you’re on the court and you don’t succeed as you want.
But let’s see what happens in Paris. It’s not the end of the world. It’s an opportunity you are given to look back, reflect and try to learn from it, grow from it, to become a better player and what went wrong.
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