Christian Ruud

Christian Ruud is a Norwegian former tennis player who held the country's highest-ever singles ranking until it was surpassed by his son, three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud.

Christian Ruud never broke into the world's top 30 as a player, yet his most significant contribution to tennis came as a coach: the father who guided his son Casper from club junior to three Grand Slam finals — the 2022 and 2023 French Opens and the 2022 US Open — and a world ranking of No. 2. He turned professional in 1991, and represented Norway in the Davis Cup from 1989 to 2000, compiling a 29-22 overall record across 20 ties. Ruud built his career around a consistent, defensively sound clay-court game, winning 12 ATP Challenger titles between 1993 and 1998 and recording notable wins over players including Gustavo Kuerten, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Alex Corretja, and Petr Korda. His best Grand Slam result came at the 1997 Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round before losing to Goran Ivanišević, and he also reached the quarterfinals of the 1997 Monte Carlo Masters. Ruud reached his career-high ranking of World No. 39 in October 1995, a mark that stood as the highest ever achieved by a Norwegian player for 25 years, until his son Casper Ruud surpassed it in February 2020. He retired from the professional tour in 2001, and went on to become Casper's primary coach throughout his development, guiding him to three Grand Slam finals — the 2022 and 2023 French Opens and the 2022 US Open — and a career-high ranking of World No. 2, describing their relationship as more like friends than father and son.

Consistent, defensively minded clay-court baseliner

The pioneering figure of Norwegian professional tennis, whose career paved the way for his son's rise to World No. 2

• Career-high ranking of World No. 39 (1995), Norway's highest until 2020
• Reached the fourth round of the Australian Open (1997)
• Norway Davis Cup player, 1989-2000
• Coach of Casper Ruud, three-time Grand Slam finalist