Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz spend "exciting" day on the golf course ahead of the Italian Open 2023
Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz took some time off their preparation for the 2023 Italian Open to visit the Marco Simone Golf Club, where they met European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald for a golf session.
Ruud, an avid follower of the sport and a passionate golfer himself, took to Instagram to share a message hinting at a possible collaboration, tagging both the Ryder Cup and Wimbledon Instagram channels. He wrote:
"Something exciting in the works. @therydercup @rydercupeurope@wimbledon," Ruud posted.
In the posted pictures and short videos, Luke Donald can be seen taking a shot while Ruud and Taylor observe. The former World No. 2 can also be seen taking a swing himself and shaking hands with the English champion.
Ruud's love for golf was also highlighted yesterday when the DP World Tour's official channel took to Twitter and posted a picture of the Norweigian embracing and congratulating the DP World Tour Italian Open winner Adrian Meronk.
"When in Rome. @CasperRuud98 congratulates Adrian Meronk after his Italian Open victory," they posted.
When in Rome 🎾
@CasperRuud98 congratulates Adrian Meronk after his Italian Open victory.
#DS80OpendItalia https://t.co/xLH1rFcIPE
Casper Ruud will next be seen on the tennis court in the opening round at the 2023 Italian Open.
Casper Ruud set to compete at the Italian Open 2023
Casper Ruud will play his opening match of the 2023 Italian Open on Friday, May 12. The fourth seed has received a first-round bye and will play against the winning qualifier from the first round.
The World No. 4 began his 2023 clay season with a title win at the Estoril Open. In an interview before the Madrid Open, Ruud, who has won nine of his ten titles on clay, spoke about the uniqueness of the surface.
"The ball travels a bit slower through the air and when it bounces, it doesn't skid off the ground as it does more on hardcourt, so you see many of the players, they get to more balls than they would do on hardcourts," he said.
The 24-year-old added that adjustments needed to be made to one's game when transitioning from hardcourt to clay.
"So you can defend more and the winners don't come as easy, the aces don't come as easy as maybe on a hardcourts. That's what takes an adjustements and getting used to," he added.
Ruud is likely to face stiff competition from Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul and Botic van de Zandshulp in his side of the draw before potentialy reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament.