Ahead Of Roland Garros, Ruud Hits Courts & Greens With Nadal In Mallorca
Casper Ruud is still waiting on his invite on Rafael Nadal’s yacht, but in the meantime, he’s enjoying quality time with the Spaniard on the court and on the golf course.
After winning the Gonet Geneva Open, Ruud is preparing for Roland Garros by practising with Nadal at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Mallorca.
“I think he’s eager to play a little bit next week, so I have to enjoy maybe a day or two off and then be ready for tough practices with him in Mallorca,” Ruud said in Geneva, where the 22-year-old won his second ATP Tour title.
Ruud has trained at Nadal’s academy since he was 19, so the Norwegian has plenty of familiarity with the World No. 3 and expects a round of golf this week, at the very least. The two also share a love for the sea with Ruud often boating in Norway and Nadal purchasing a new yacht in 2020.
“He hasn’t invited me on the new boat yet so we will see what happens,” Ruud said. “It would be obviously nice to go, but we’ve been playing golf a couple of times. We are both eager to play golf and to challenge each other.”
Though Ruud and Nadal have yet to face off on the ATP Tour, they have battled on the fairways.
“Rafa is a scratch [golfer] or even under zero so that’s very good,” Ruud said. “I am a 1.8 [handicap], so it’s very close, but he is still winning for the moment. Next time I will try to beat him.”
Maybe one day they’ll go fishing together, though not in Mallorca as Ruud, a big fan of sushi, thinks his home country has a better selection.
“They don’t have salmon in Mallorca so I don’t really want to do any fishing,” Ruud said. “But I know that he likes to fish and I think he should probably come to Norway to go fishing for salmon because it’s a very nice thing to do.”