Casper Ruud suggests he may skip Australian Open with wife due to give birth

Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 12:15

byErik Virostko

Casper Ruud is focusing his efforts on starting the 2026 season well, but there are also other things he has to think about.

Ruud's 2025 season was one of his worse in recent years. He finished the year outside the Top 10, so the goal for the upcoming season is quite straightforward for the Norwegian player. But despite his professional goals being clear, he came to Australia with a bit of uncertainty.

He and his wife, Maria Galligani, will soon become parents. Their first child is due anytime soon, which might mean a flight back home for Ruud. Obviously, his wife didn't travel to Australia with him.

Ruud started his season at the United Cup, beating Alex de Minaur but then losing to Jakub Mensik. After that, he travelled to New Zealand fro the ASB Classic in Auckland. As the second seed, he had a first-round bye, and will play against Fabian Marozsan in the second round.

Speaking ahead of the event, the 27-year-old player revealed that if he receives a call from his wife, he might quickly jump on the plane to travel back home and support her.

"Honestly, she [the baby] can come any time now. So hopefully I get to stay for the rest of the tournament, but you never know. I might get a call and be on the plane back home out of here."

"It’s no short trip back home, so hopefully she stays in for a few extra weeks, and I can be there for the birth, and later in the year we’ll have our wedding and celebrate our marriage."

Year 2026 will be exciting for Ruud in many ways. Not only will he become a father and have a planned wedding ceremony with his wife, but he also looks forward to challenging for titles on the ATP Tour.

According to his own words, the 2025 season was below his expectations, so he will try to show why he once challenged for Grand Slam titles in 2026.

"(2026) will be a really fun year, but if we put those (family) things aside and think about tennis, I think it can be an exciting year. Last season was, in a way, not what I was hoping for, but at the same time, I really played some good tennis. I got two titles last year, and hopefully play more like I did those two weeks for this season coming up now."

After playing in Auckland, Ruud will move to Melbourne, Australia, where he will be among the Top 15 seeded players. That means he will avoid the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner for the first three rounds, and he won't have to face a higher-ranked player in the first week of the competition.

Ruud has never done well at the Australian Open, but he will want to change that as well. His best result is the fourth round in 2021, but apart from that, he made it out of the second round only once.