The ATP Rankings system as well as the tour’s Bonus Pool have come under fire from Casper Ruud as he feels it forces players to compete even when they are not 100% fit.
Two-time Roland Garros finalist Ruud suffered his joint-earliest exit from the tournament as he was stunned by unseeded Nuno Borges in the second round in Paris.
The Norwegian was hampered by a leg injury throughout the 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 defeat as he admitted after the match that he had been struggling for several weeks.
Ruud has played in all the big clay-court events the past two months, losing in the round of 16 in Monte Carlo and the quarter-final in Barcelona before winning the Madrid Open.
He then suffered a last-eight exit from the Italian Open and was due to play in the Geneva Open last week, but withdrew due to the injury.
“Hopefully it is nothing too serious but for the last couple of weeks I’ve been struggling with knee pain,” the world eight stated.
“In practice it is easier to avoid certain movements, certain shots. But when you play matches you can’t control it the same way.
“Sometimes you kind of forget that this is a shot I shouldn’t go for maybe in terms of pain in the knee. I still played good tennis in the first two sets. It’s a Slam, I didn’t want to retire.”
But he then asked about taking an extended period from the ATP Tour to fully recover from an injury and gave a frank reply as he criticised the rankings system and the Bonus Pool.
“It’s kind of like a rat race when it comes to the rankings,” he started off.
“You feel you’re obligated to play with certain rules that the ATP have set up with the mandatory events. You feel like you lose a lot if you don’t show up and play, both economically, point-wise, ranking-wise and opportunity-wise.
“For me I know these weeks and months are really important for the remainder of the year and for my career. Of course, if my leg is broken, I won’t play.
“But it’s tough anyways, especially when there’s a time with mandatory events to skip them because the punishments are quite hard, in terms of everyone else will play, gain points… and you won’t. Also there’s a certain bonus system set up that is reduced if you don’t show up to the mandatory events.”
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In terms of the rankings, players have to defend their points from the previous year at tournaments and that ultimately determines their position during the season and whether or not they qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals and the Bonus Pool.
According to the official ATP website, “ATP Masters 1000 and Nitto ATP Finals Bonus Pool payments in 2025 will be awarded to the 30 players who earn the most PIF ATP Rankings points at ATP Masters 1000 events and the Nitto ATP Finals this season, subject to participation.
“The total of this Bonus Pool is $21 million, up from $11.5 million in 2022.”
There is also extra money up for grabs for playing in ATP 500 events and as per the official website: “Players also have an opportunity to earn a share of $3 million in the ATP 500 Bonus Pool, which is distributed among the top six players in the standings (also subject to participation).”
Ruud continued: “It’s a questionable system because on one hand you don’t want to show up injured, and you maybe give the spot to other one. I’m not sure if you’re aware.. but if you don’t play a mandatory event, they cut 25% of your year-end bonus.
“You’re kind of forcing players to show up injured or sick, or whatever, when that is not what I think is very fair. Anyways it’s been deal-able, like I said.
“I’ve been able to deal with the pain. It hasn’t been too bad. Some days worse than others. I’m just looking forward to not being on some painkillers for some days now [smiles]. Let it really heal and rest and see where I’m at in a few weeks.”
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