Casper Ruud and Holger Rune have had their share of ups and downs on the tennis court, but they plan to face off in two exhibition matches during the off-season. As top Scandinavian players on the ATP Tour, their matches naturally draw attention due to their geographical closeness.
Their clash at the 2022 French Open quarterfinal was particularly intense. Ruud had already won three times against Rune, putting pressure on the then-19-year-old Rune to turn things around.
The match itself was thrilling with Ruud winning 6-1, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3. Yet it wasn’t just about tennis; emotions ran high as Rune seemed upset during the game. He appeared to ask his mom to leave amid heated exchanges with his team. Though he later denied this.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| no Casper Ruud | 26 | 4,025 | 39 - 10 |
Afterwards, a frosty handshake from Rune left Ruud shaking his head in disbelief. Things got even more dramatic when Rune accused Ruud of celebrating too much in front of him in the locker room—a claim Ruud firmly denied.
Exhibition Matches: A New Chapter?
Fast forward two years and it seems like they’re getting along better now. While Rune is busy at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, Ruud recently played at Stockholm Open and spoke about sportswashing issues there.
Fans might wonder if these exhibitions are a sign that they’ve patched things up for good. The first match is set for November 30th in Asker; then they’ll meet again on December 3rd in Copenhagen.
Ruud shared that media buzz around them led to planning these matches together for fun and marketing purposes—everything on X was carefully orchestrated! “It will be fun,” he said enthusiastically about welcoming Rune to Oslo and visiting Copenhagen himself.
On another note, Ruud commented on Rune’s decision to bring Lars Christensen back into his coaching team yet again. While it’s not really any of his business, he hopes it works out well for him this time around since Lars has been an important figure since Rune’s early days as a player.
What do you think? Are these exhibition games just another chapter or something more?
