Casper Ruud explains why bigger courts suit players like him and Daniil Medvedev

Casper Ruud recently weighed in on how smaller tennis courts make him feel like he is trapped inside a cage.

Ruud has struggled for consistency so far in the season, with just 11 wins out of 20 matches. Although he lifted his 10th singles title (ninth on clay) at the ATP 250 Estoril Open last month, the Norwegian has been knocked out in the first and second rounds of a majority of tournaments in 2023.

Daniil Medvedev recently complained about the small dimensions of the Arantxa Sanchez Vicario Court during his fourth-round loss against Aslan Karatsev at the 2023 Madrid Open. In a press conference ahead of the Italian Open, Ruud addressed the issue as well, saying that he faced difficulty while returning - especially when he was standing far away from the baseline.

"Some courts on tour can be smaller or larger than others, not stadium-wise, but on length behind the baseline. So there are a couple of courts that, to me, can be a little bit small sometimes," the World No. 4 said.

"Just speaking my honesty here, you look at maybe myself or a player like Medvedev, for example," he added. "Last week in Madrid, when we played, center court is obviously very big in Madrid but Court No. 2, if you look at where me and Daniil is returning, we're very close to the line umpire. It can be a little tricky sometimes."

Ruud added that on smaller courts he is too close to the line judge, which makes him feel as if he is in a "cage."

"You feel like you can't hit your ball when you have the line umpire and all these things like just half a meter behind you. You feel sort of like a little in a cage kind of way. Rome should be fine. The courts here are big. They're made for typical clay-court players kind of with how big they are and how deep they are. I think it should be fine this week," the 24-year-old explained.

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Casper Ruud hopes to find his groove soon

Casper Ruud

In his press conference, two-time Italian Open semifinalist Casper Ruud admitted to his struggles this season but expressed hope of returning to his best soon.

"Things will obviously go up and down in one's career. You won't be able to perform at your best every single match you play for the rest of your career. It's a long year, and I still have many years, hopefully, in my career to try to find my form again," he said.

Ruud will either face Italy's Flavio Cobolli or Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the second round of the 2023 Italian Open on Friday, May 12.