Son surpassed dad as nation’s greatest player but allergy holding him back at Wimbledon
CASPER RUUD is Norway’s greatest tennis player in history.
And he snatched that prestigious title away from his dad – with both father and son sharing a court with Roger Federer.
Casper Ruud has followed in the footsteps of his tennis-playing fatherCredit: Getty
The Norwegian star has reached three Grand Slam finals and was world No2Credit: Getty
Christian Ruud, 51, enjoyed a fine career as an ATP professional from 1991 to 2001, racking up £1.1million in prize money.
His best performance at the majors came when he reached round four at the 1997 Australian Open but he could not get over the line to win his one and only ATP Tour final, losing out on the 1995 Swedish Open.
Ruud Sr – who barely remembers practising with a young Federer at an exhibition event in Houston – did land 12 Challenger tournament victories and represented Norway at three Olympics.
And his career-high ranking of 39 in the world was the best of any Norwegian male in history… until Casper surpassed him in February 2020.
Christian and wife Lele welcomed Casper in December 1998 in Oslo.
Less than four weeks later, the dad was in Melbourne for his final Australian Open appearance.
Now the retired ex-player is coaching his son to challenge among the very top players on the planet.
Casper, 24, certainly made a major impact at junior level, reaching the French Open and US Open finals and the world No1 ranking.
And his struggles in Grand Slam finals has, so far, translated into senior tennis.
Ruud was comprehensively beaten by Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2022 and Novak Djokovic a year later.
