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Casper Ruud is the unfortunate owner of a bizarre statistic.
When he lost to Jannik Sinner in the Rome Masters final earlier in May, it was the fourth time the Norwegian had faced a player looking to create history.
First, there was the 2022 French Open final. Ruud came up short against Rafael Nadal, who broke his own record of 13 Roland Garros titles whilst also winning a then-record 22nd Grand Slam title in the process.
Then there was the US Open final later that year, in which Carlos Alcaraz defeated Ruud to become the youngest man to be ranked world No.1, surpassing Lleyton Hewitt’s record.
The following year, Ruud again made the Roland Garros final, this time losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets. In doing so, Djokovic won a then-record 23rd Grand Slam title and became the only man in history to win each major three times or more.
And finally, at the 2026 Italian Open, Sinner completed an historic golden masters, becoming the youngest man to do so at 24-years-old. Again, at the expense of poor old Casper Ruud.
While this might appear to be an unhappy trend, experienced British journalist and broadcaster, Simon Cambers, believes Ruud would see the funny side.
“I imagine that he’ll probably think it’s a little fun quirk,” Cambers told The First Serve.
As quirky as it is, Cambers also feels this stat points to the high level of tennis Ruud has consistently produced over the last few years.
“I think it’s more about his consistency in reaching big finals. He’s been one of the best clay court players outside of the top three for the last five years,” he said.
The Norwegian’s rankings journey over the last 5 years proves Cambers’ point.
At the back-end of 2021, Ruud planted himself inside the world’s top 10 and has remained there, more or less, ever since. In that time, he’s made three Grand Slam finals, alongside a handful of Masters 1000 finals.
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While he dropped points in Madrid earlier in April, the 27-year-old rebounded strongly in Rome and now comes into Roland Garros in red hot form.
Additionally, aside from a certain Spaniard sitting on the sidelines, Cambers believes the conditions in Paris will also give Ruud an edge.
“Now that [we have] no Alcaraz in Paris, it opens up the opportunity for somebody to come through and get to another final,” he told The First Serve.
“Ruud is the kind of player who is going to be really tough to beat, especially, interestingly, in the warm conditions, because he needs that ball to get up high.”
“He’ll get that in the heat and he will love that, especially with the topspin on his forehand. And if he stays fit, he’s got a fighting chance to get to the final, depending on his draw.”
Another player in contention to make a Roland Garros final is Alexander Zverev.
He’s arguably been the third-best player in the world behind Alcaraz and Sinner over the last few years and has played well over the clay court swing.
Drawing frequent comparisons with Ruud, given they are both three-time major finalists, Zverev does, however, often overshadow the Norwegian. Cambers acknowledges that this may be down to the German’s greater level of success, despite a similarly consistent output.
“I think the difference between Zverev and Ruud and the reason Zverev is mentioned more often is that Zverev has been to more semifinals and quarterfinals than Ruud,” he explained.
“He’s won more titles outside of the slams as well. So he probably just gets a bigger coverage.”
Another reason Zverev enters the discussion more often is that he possesses a louder personality, which began as early as 2014 when the German first burst onto the scene.
“When he was 16, and he first came on tour, he thought he was going to be world number one. He was talking himself up. A lot of people were talking him up,” Cambers recalled.
“Hasn’t quite happened for him, but he’s gotten close a few times. And now again, with no Alcaraz, he’ll be thinking, ‘I can get to the final.’”
And that just about sums it up.
Zverev is loud and better at promoting himself. Ruud, in stark contrast, is understated, the consummate gentleman; often described by his peers as the “nice guy” on tour. Despite this, the World No.17 is still ruthless on court and goes about his business with no muss, no fuss.
Being so inherently likeable makes it easy to root for Ruud, and while he’s often been on the receiving end of history, let’s hope the Norwegian can turn around his fortune eventually, starting in Paris.
Ruud kicks off his Roland Garros campaign against Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin tonight.
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