Casper Ruud didn't want to sugarcoat anything following his shock US Open exit as the three-time Grand Slam finalist admitted to dealing with confidence issues.
After picking up a stunning French Open second-round defeat to Nuno Borges, the Norwegian tennis star missed the entire grass season to address a knee issue that was bothering him. However, since returning, the former world No. 2's form has been subpar as he is only 4-4.
In his opening match at the US Open, Ruud ousted Sebastian Ofner 6-1 6-2 7-6 (5). But after a promising start, the current world No. 12 returned to his habits from recent months and suffered a shock second-round loss after 107th-ranked Raphael Collignon handed him a 6-4 3-6 3-6 6-4 7-5 loss.
Ruud: I can honestly say that I'm not playing with much confidence
“I haven’t won that many matches, let’s say, in the last two, three months, also due to being out for a bit, but when I came back, I didn’t win that many matches to build up a lot of confidence in the matches. Also, feeling of mishitting a lot of shots, hitting a lot of frames out of my forehand, which is supposed to be my best shot. It’s not a good feeling," the 2022 US Open runner-up explained after his early loss in New York.
Ruud then proceeded to very honestly admit that his confidence levels were low these days.
“I can just honestly say I don’t play with much confidence these days. Will I try to go back, practice even better, harder? Yes, for sure. And am I motivated? Yes, but in the matches I don’t over-boost confidence at them at the moment," the former world No. 2 added.
Judging by Ruud's words, he will now return to the practice court and try to do some hard work before returning to action in Asia.
