Casper Ruud points to three key improvements needed to beat Carlos Alcaraz

Casper Ruud has experienced a mixed bag of results so far in his 2026 ATP Tour season.

He started off with one win from two tournaments, competing at the United Cup and ASB Classic, before heading into the Australian Open.

In Melbourne, he managed to reach the fourth round but was knocked out by Ben Shelton.

Ruud then put together a quarterfinal run in Delray Beach but followed that up with an early exit in Acapulco. He later reached the fourth round at Indian Wells.

Casper Ruud shares thoughts on taking on the big hitters on tour

Speaking to Tennis TV, Ruud said: “I think that I’ve been, you know, this year so far a little bit up and down. I’ve played quite well at the bigger events, which is obviously kind of what you want.

“A lot of things off court have happened in my life, of course, very nice and beautiful things. But yeah, there have been some hours extra spent on that compared to maybe what I usually would spend on the court. But that’s how it is.

“But this is also the last tournament before we head back home to Europe. And I hope my game can be well and to handle the big hitters.

“[Against them] I rely on moving well, getting a lot of extra balls back and try to dominate as much as I can with my forehand.

“And in Indian Wells, I felt like I was doing pretty well in the first and second match and you know, partially in the second set with Carlos [Alcaraz] as well.”

“So it was a bit of a tough match for me, but I hope I can continue to play some good tennis here in Miami before we head back home.”

How Casper Ruud has fared against Carlos Alcaraz

Ruud’s lone win over Alcaraz came in 2024, breaking a four-match losing streak up to that point.

That victory came during the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals, where he won in straight sets. But Alcaraz has since claimed wins at both the 2025 Japan Open and the 2026 Indian Wells Open.

Their most notable clash was at the 2022 US Open final. Alcaraz emerged victorious, securing his first Grand Slam title—a trophy count that now stands at seven.

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