How times change. World No. 7 Casper Ruud was once a ball boy at the Oslo Tennis Arena, now he is the pride of Norway with a burning desire to ensure his smouldering career catches fire – blazes in fact.

Speaking to ITFWorld ahead of Norway’s Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifier with Kazakhstan in March, Ruud acknowledges that his top 10 status necessitates a more sustained Grand Slam challenge. 

The 23-year-old has so far failed to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final, with his best performance coming at the 2021 Australian Open when he reached the round of 16 before an abdominal injury forced his retirement against Andrey Rublev.

Suggestions of a Grand Slam-shaped hole on his CV belie the fact he has kept some exalted company of late and won two of the eight matches he contested against top five opposition in 2021.

They also evidence just how far Ruud has risen in recent years, especially through the prism of Norway having a limited tennis history. To contextualise further, the nation’s previous highest-ranked man was Ruud’s father and coach, Christian, who peaked at No. 39 in 1995.

While Ruud makes no secret of his need for a breakthrough moment on the sport’s biggest stages, it ought to be acknowledged that such ambitions are a far cry from his humble – and sore – beginnings.

“I have a memory of being a ball kid on this court,” Ruud, sitting beside the main court at the Oslo Tennis Arena, tells ITFWorld. 

“I was the ball kid for the Norwegian Davis Cup team and I remember that I was hit by a serve in the stomach, which was a bit painful. I was young, and I remember we had fancy clothing through a clothing sponsor. I just wanted to do as well as I could as a ball kid.”

Ruud’s ability as a ball boy remains uncertain. What is unquestionable, however, is the extent to which his on-court career has progressed since, with him becoming the first Norwegian to crack the top 10 in September 2021.

Last year’s ascent was fuelled by a personal-best 57 wins and five ATP 250 titles, including three in succession on the clay of Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel during a hugely profitable July.

5️⃣0️⃣🥳🙏🏻🎾 https://t.co/hg3WbtTXSi

— Casper Ruud (@CasperRuud98) October 27, 2021

It was noted in some quarters that while Ruud was posting this trophy treble, most of the world’s best were competing at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and the highest-ranked player he faced was No. 49 Benoit Paire.

Nevertheless, he has consolidated his top-10 position during the intervening months, not least by conquering all before him at the Argentina Open in February. He also reached the final of the Miami Open earlier this month as a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title beckoned. 

But while a haul of seven ATP titles is not to be sniffed at and there are plenty of players with far fewer, there is a definite focus elsewhere. Roland Garros in May offers Ruud the latest opportunity to star and in the process outdo his father, who reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open in 1997. 

“The next step in my career would be to have a good result in the Grand Slams or tournaments where I would feel I have the most to improve,” said Oslo-born Ruud.

“I started well but I was not able to do as well as I would have hoped in the Grand Slams last year, so reaching a quarter-final or the latter stages is a goal for this year. Let’s see if I can do it.

“I know it’s a tough call because Grand Slams are the toughest test we have in our sport with the toughest competition, but I will do everything I can to reach the latter stages and get a good result this year in one of the three Grand Slams left. I don’t mind which one.”

Time is very much on his side, and while new goals have been set, the scale and historic context of what he has accomplished so far is not lost on Ruud.

“It still feels fun to be the first Norwegian to make the top 10,” said Ruud, who also became the first Norwegian to win an ATP Tour title when he triumphed at the Argentina Open in 2020.

“Since my father stopped his career, there have not been too many players from Norway who have climbed the rankings and it was a goal of mine for many years.

“My father has spoken about it so many times, saying ‘the top 10 is where all the big boys are playing and that’s where you want to be’. Growing up, I would always be pretty on point and know exactly who was in the top 10 and now I am there.

“From an early age I thought about playing tennis on the big screens, and while there are no guarantees in this sport in terms of what you will achieve or how far you will go, being in that elite group of the top 10 was a goal. It was an emotional moment when I got there.”

Ruud references his father on numerous occasions during this interview and understandably so given it was his dad who first thrust a racket into his hands.

Christian, who represented Norway at three consecutive Olympic Games and reached the third round at Atlanta in 1996, remains Casper’s coach to this day, and it has proven a more than fruitful partnership. 

“He has been the key to my success because he knows what this sport is about,” said Ruud.

“He has been guiding me in the right directions and pushing me hard, but luckily not too hard because I think there is a fine balance with how far you can push someone, and players are a bit different in this category.

“For many years, he has known which buttons to push and which ones not to. He has always been there and always pushed me, helped me and guided me. He still does and he deserves a lot of the credit for my success.”

Another key ingredient cited by Ruud is simple dedication to his craft, something he believes has underpinned his rise from outside the top 100 a little more than three years ago to his current lofty position.

His promise had long-since been identified, however. Ruud was a former junior world No. 1 and the recipient of a $25,000 ITF-administered Grand Slam Player Development Programme Grant in 2018.

He has spoken previously of his appreciation for this funding and of its value, particularly at a time – during the early stages of his professional career – when finance was perhaps a more pertinent issue.

A further 44 players, all from developing tennis nations, have this year received financial assistance through the Grand Slam Player Development Fund, with the hope being their progression will also receive a timely boost.

Having earned more than $5m in prize money, the days of Ruud requiring financial help have passed, although what do remain are the principles and values which sustained and characterised those early tennis steps.

“It sounds very basic but the main ingredient for success is hard work,” said Ruud. “Of course, it is not enough with only hard work but that is the main base.

“After that you need to develop your mindset, especially on court, and have a good overview of what you need to do on court, which comes with playing matches. You need to win a lot of matches and play well in the important points.

“Hard work is something that will get you a long way. Between the ages of 13 and 18, these were years when I built my playing style, my character and my body physically. You evolve and develop a lot in those years.

“Hard work may sound like a simple answer, but at the end of the day we have heard many times from the legends of the sport like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic that hard work gets you far.”

Part of Ruud’s journey along the ITF player pathway included an appearance at the 2013 Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Mexico and the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu three years later.

As in most areas of his life, Ruud has since progressed to the big leagues and last month he had visions of powering Norway to the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals with victory over Kazakhstan. However, that proved a step too far.

A wily Kazakh outfit confirmed their place at the Finals with a 3-1 victory, sealed by Alexander Bublik’s triumph over Ruud, although there remains a deep-rooted desire to ensure Norway reach the competition’s top table.

“When I first started playing Davis Cup, as a team we sat down and put down the goal that one day we wanted to be in the World Group, which is now the Finals,” added Ruud, who holds a 21-9 win-loss record in Davis Cup.

“We wanted to play against the biggest countries and the biggest players. That would mean so much to the players and Anders [Haseth] too, who has been captain of the team for over 20 years. It would also mean a lot for the whole of Norway.

“I imagine it is similar to qualifying for the World Cup in football. Of course, Davis Cup is every year whereas in football the World Cup is every fourth year, but it is where the biggest teams compete against each other.

“After all, 16 teams make the finals and if you are one of those teams it means that your country is one of the best 16 in the world. It wasn’t to be on this occasion but going forward I believe that we can do it.”

Like most aspects of Ruud’s career, milestones arrived early, and he was only 15 when he made his Davis Cup debut during a World Group III showdown against Armenia in San Marino in 2015.

“I remember that match,” he added. “I was so nervous because I wanted to win my first Davis Cup match. Ever since, Davis Cup has been really important to me. Davis Cup weeks are fun weeks which get the team spirit going.

“Tennis is a sport which is mostly quite lonely because you are out on court and travel by yourself. It is sometimes nice to have back-up from the team although I have chosen to play tennis for a reason. Tennis is an individual sport, which is what I prefer.”

Just as well, because If Ruud is going to star under the Grand Slam spotlight this season as he hopes, he will have to do it all by himself. Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open await his talents.

The interview with Casper Ruud initially featured in ITFWorld, the ITF's premium magazine. The spring 2022 edition of ITFWorld can be read here.