Ruud and Tsitsipas are set to face major ATP ranking drops after early exits at Roland Garros

The drama at Roland Garros is in full swing, with shocking upsets captivating tennis fans around the globe. Following Daniil Medvedev’s first-round defeat to Cameron Norrie, World No. 8 Casper Ruud and World No. 20 Stefanos Tsitsipas have joined the list of early exits, suffering surprising second-round losses that will lead to steep drops in the ATP Rankings.

Ruud, a two-time French Open finalist in 2022 and 2023, was defeated by World No. 41 Nuno Borges in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 match where a knee injury hampered his performance. With this loss, Ruud is projected to fall to World No. 13 in the ATP Rankings and could slip further to No. 14 if Arthur Fils defeats Jaume Munar in the second round.

“Certain movements out there are kind of what makes it painful. Certain shots are painful to do,” Ruud said in his post-match press conference. “When you’re playing matches, you can’t really control it in the same way [as in practice]. You do everything you can to get to every ball. Sometimes you kind of forget that this is a shot I shouldn’t go for. It’s been okay in practice because, like I said, I’m able to control it a bit more. When you play a match, you go full on, no matter what happens”.

Tsitsipas, the 2021 Roland Garros finalist, suffered an even more shocking upset, losing 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to World No. 167 Matteo Gigante. Tsitsipas is now projected to drop out of the ATP Top 20, falling to World No. 25 and potentially slipping to No. 26 if Flavio Cobolli defeats Matteo Arnaldi in his second-round match.

Matteo Gigante of Italy celebrates his victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the second round of Roland Garros. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

As for Gigante, his triumph not only sets him on course for a career-high ranking of World No. 129 but also makes him the first qualifier in 17 years to defeat a former French Open finalist in men’s singles. Eduardo Schwank was the last to do so, beating Carlos Moya in 2008.

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Ruud criticizes ATP’s schedule demands

In his post-match remarks, Ruud expressed frustration with the ATP’s packed schedule and mandatory event requirements, describing it as “like a rat race.” “Well, it’s kind of like a rat race when it comes to the rankings, as well. You feel you’re obligated to play with certain rules that the ATP have set up with the mandatory events,” Ruud said. “You feel like you lose a lot if you don’t show up and play, both economically, point-wise, ranking-wise and opportunity-wise”.

The Norwegian added, “For me, I know these weeks and months are really important for the remaining 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”.

Ruud also highlighted the controversial aspect of the ATP’s year-end bonus system, which penalizes players who skip mandatory events by reducing their bonus by 25 percent.

“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,” he explained. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but if you don’t play a mandatory event, they cut 25 per cent 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”.