Casper Ruud has enjoyed an impressive Madrid Open campaign so far, with a semi-final clash against Francisco Cerundolo up next.
Ruud defeated Daniil Medvedev in the last eight of the Madrid Open, extending his perfect streak in ATP Masters 1000 clay court quarter-finals to 7-0.
In doing so, Ruud also achieved an incredible feat, becoming the first player born after 1990 to reach 30 tour-level clay court semi-finals.
Ruud has already matched his best Madrid Open campaign, which came in 2021, where he lost to Matteo Berrettini in the semi-finals.
The tournament, expanded to a 12-days in 2023, is the eighth event the two-time Roland Garros finalist is playing in this year, and his third of the clay season.
Ruud commented on the amount of matches he’s played this year and voiced his concerns over player burnout.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty ImagesRuud suggests volume of tournaments is ‘getting too much’ for some players
Speaking on player burnout amongst some players on tour after defeating Medvedev, Ruud said: “You see all the other players playing every week or doing a full season, it is kind of like it forces you to do it yourself.
“There are obviously days and times where I wish the season was a bit shorter and that we had more time to really, really calm down and not think about tennis for a longer period. But we don’t.
The schedule is the way it is.
“If you end the year top 30 in the world, you are looking at the following year you are mandatory to play, I think I counted 28 or 29 weeks in the following year that you are mandatory to show up or forced to be there.
“If you count the slams being two weeks, there you have eight weeks, seven out of nine Masters 1000’s now are heading towards two week tournaments.”
The Norwegian added that as a result, the punishments for not playing were significant, stating: “Then we have five 500s that we are mandatory to play as well. So you are looking at 29 weeks that are mandatory, that you are supposed to show up, and if you don’t, the punishments are quite harsh.
“There are some things which players start to feel that it is getting a bit too much. I can’t speak for everyone but for myself I have definitely felt it.”
What scheduling changes were made for the 2025 season?
Ruud’s concerns over tournament scheduling come just four months into the ATP Tour’s new season calendar.
In March last year, ATP released their 2025 schedule, which saw notable changes, including:
- Expanded Masters tournaments: both Montreal and Cincinnati were expanded to 12-day events
- A total of 16 ATP 500 events, up from 12 in 2024
- Creation of additional weeks featuring side-by-side ATP 500 events
After unveiling the changes last year, ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “Next season will see yet more enhancements to the ATP Tour’s premium product across a streamlined calendar.”
“This is central to everything we’ve been building under OneVision, which ultimately aims to create the best possible experience for our fans.”