Casper Ruud kicked off his Asian swing of the ATP Tour with a win at the 2025 Japan Open, but his thoughts are still not on the ATP Tour Finals at the end of the year.
Ruud defeated Shintaro Mochizuki in three sets after dropping the opening set to the home favourite in Tokyo.
The World No. 12 is looking to bounce back from disappointing early exits in Cincinnati and at the US Open and he started well at the Japan Open.
Ruud set out his goals for the rest of 2025 after his win and revealed why he’s not thinking about the ATP Tour Finals.
Casper Ruud is more interested in finishing the season strongly than the ATP Tour Finals
Ruud was all smiles after confirming his place in the second round of the Japan Open in Tokyo, following the long journey from San Francisco from the Laver Cup.
Ruud’s two wins at the Laver Cup were followed up with another against Mochizuki, continuing his ascent towards the ATP Tour Finals, but the Norwegian does not have his thoughts on Turin.
“Not yet. Typically when we come back to Europe, there’s only three or four more tournaments, so that’s when you think about it,” said Ruud about the ATP Tour Finals in November.
Ruud is currently ranked World No. 12 and would need to jump three places in the rankings due to Jack Draper finishing his season early.
Despite being in touching distance from the illustrious year-end tournament, Ruud has suggested another goal is on his mind before the end of 2025.
“My goal is to have a good end of the season, and I haven’t really had that in the past except for Turin, [where] I’ve had some good results,” he explained.
“Indoors is not my forte. Let’s see… It was a little tough to play today, coming a long way from San Francisco, but I’m very happy I was able to overcome it,” continued Ruud.
Ruud will play Matteo Berrettini in the second round of the China Open, a player he’s beaten in five of their eight meetings.
How many ATP Tour points Casper Ruud is defending in Japan and Shanghai
Ruud is still in a good position for ATP Tour Final qualification, despite over 800 points to dislodge Lorenzo Musetti in ninth place.
The Norwegian is not defending any points at the Japan Open, after crashing out to Jordan Thompson in the first round in 2024.
Ruud was not much more successful in Shanghai last year, either, as he lost to Aleksandar Vukic in the second round of the Chinese tournament.
A solid run in either tournament will provide Ruud with a ranking jump ahead of the final few tournaments of the year.
