'Absolutely Disgraceful': Casper Ruud's Late Match Postponement In Rome Slammed
NewsWednesday, 14 May 2025 at 23:57
Coco Vandeweghe strongly criticized the treatment of Casper Ruud and Jaume Munar at the 2025 Italian Open after their match was postponed.
Rain in Rome meant matches extended longer than initially intended. Completing all of the scheduled contests was complicated further by long battles, including Carlos Alcaraz beating Karen Khachanov 7-5 in the third set and Hubert Hurkacz and Peyton Stearns triumphing in deciding set tiebreaks.
Despite the challenge caused by the rain, tournament organizers tried to complete all the singles matches without moving them to smaller courts. That meant Ruud and Munar were left waiting in uncertainty while other players competed in the Italian capital.
Eventually, the organizers realized fitting in Ruud's match on one of the biggest courts would not be possible, but they did not make that decision until after 11 pm local time, meaning the players had waited around all day for nothing in the end.
Vandeweghe sympathized with Ruud and Munar and was furious with the tournament for putting them in that position. The former Australian Open and US Open semifinalist feels they should have been given clarity much earlier or moved to an available court.
"It should've been decided to get it to a different court, but to keep these men on schedule, that's what we talked about from the start, the fact they kept these men this late, this long, is absolutely disgraceful. It makes it difficult for them to play to the best of their ability and recover for the next round."
Although the weather made fitting all the matches on the three main courts (Centre Court, Grand Stand Arena, Pietrangeli) challenging, Ruud and Munar's round of 16 contest could have been completed on a small court.
That would have meant very few fans were present to watch, but also prevented the pair from waiting around in vain to compete. Organizers could have done that if the players' welfare were their first priority.
Ultimately, Ruud defeated Munar 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday at Grand Stand Arena. The Norwegian will play world No. 1 and home hero Jannik Sinner in what could be one of the best and most dramatic matches of the season.
Sinner entered the Italian Open without any expectations because he had not played a tournament since the 2025 Australian Open in January due to being suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency from February 9th until May 4th.
That lengthy absence and the fact that clay is not Sinner's favorite make his performances in Rome very impressive. The three-time Grand Slam champion did not drop a set in wins against Mariano Navone, Jesper De Jong, and Francisco Cerundolo.
Sinner also reminded fans worldwide that he is among the classiest players in the sport during the victory against De Jong. The Dutchman hurt his wrist after taking a nasty fall when trying to hit a volley on Centre Court.
The world No. 1 immediately went to check on De Jong and brought him a towel as he walked over to sit down and get treatment. Sinner also cleaned the clay off his opponent's racket before handing it back to him.
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