“Forcing us to play with injuries”: top tennis player criticizes the ATP
Kaspar Ruud (world number 8) was furious after being eliminated from Roland Garros due to an injury: “We might lose financially and sportively if we do not attend tournaments.”
Ruud is considered one of the clay experts on the global tennis tour, but today (Wednesday) he got injured and was eliminated already in the second round of the Roland Garros tournament by Portuguese Nuno Borges, for whom it was the first career victory over a top 10 opponent.
The Norwegian (world number 8) reached the final in Paris in 2022 and 2023 and the semifinals last year, but this time lost 2:6, 6:4, 6:1, 6:0 due to a knee injury.
At the end he explained: “The injury has accompanied me since the start of the clay season.
I tried to get rid of it using anti inflammatories and painkillers.
It helped to a certain extent, but not enough.”
Ruud claimed that his pain began at the Monte Carlo tournament, but since then he played in four more tournaments and also won Madrid.
When asked why he continued playing, he blamed the ATP organization, which pushes players to compete even when injured, as non-participation leads to financial and sportive sanctions.
“We feel we might lose a lot financially, in ranking, and in opportunities if we do not attend tournaments,” said the Norwegian.
“On one hand, you do not want to appear injured, especially when another player could play instead. On the other hand, if you do not participate in mandatory tournaments, they take 25 percent of the year-end bonus.
It is a kind of coercion for players to participate even when they are sick or injured, and it is simply not fair.”
Ruud is not the first to criticize the global tennis organization.
At the end of March, about 20 tennis players and a professional association filed a series of lawsuits against sports bodies, including the ATP and WTA, claiming the existence of a “corrupt, illegal, and abusive system.”
According to the CEO of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), which was founded among others by Novak Djokovic: “Players trapped in not fair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and endangers their health and safety.”