Casper Ruud has come under scrutiny from Andre Agassi and Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, for his tactics and on-court behavior during the 2026 Italian Open final. The Norwegian fell short against Jannik Sinner in the title clash, who made history by completing the Career Golden Masters with his impressive triumph.
Why Brad Gilbert Criticized Casper Ruud’s ‘Uncharacteristic’ Display Against Jannik Sinner
After suffering a brutal 6-0, 6-1 loss to Sinner in the quarterfinals of last year’s Italian Open, Ruud was looking to redeem himself in their highly anticipated rematch. Although the Norwegian secured an early break and took a 2-0 lead in the opening set, he was unable to maintain the momentum as the world No. 1 fought back to secure a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
While analyzing Ruud’s performance on “The Big T Podcast,” Brad Gilbert called attention to his “uncharacteristic” behavior, highlighting how the Norwegian vented his frustration toward his father and coach, Christian Ruud.
“Couple things for Ruud that I thought was uncharacteristic. One, he’s normally very relaxed on the court and he started actually barking at the camp a little bit and his dad a little bit. You’re not used to seeing that,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert also questioned the 27-year-old’s strategy to engage in backhand rallies with Sinner, despite his forehand proving to be his most effective weapon throughout the tournament.
“And I felt like he got off to a good start being patient. But the reason why I say uncharacteristically is, his game is about serve and finding that first ball forehand. And I thought he settled to go backhand to backhand with Sinner. And obviously Sinner’s backhand is not as good as his forehand, but I felt like he should have early on tried to find the forehand, which he did all tournament,” he said.
The renowned coach further suggested that Ruud needed to be less predictable, explaining how the strong start may have given him a false sense of confidence.
“I thought he should have tried to go big on the forehand. Be a little more unpredictable, patient, and then still use your strength. So I felt like maybe he got this little lead,” he added. “Remember last year there, he got crushed. But I feel like maybe the good start got him to think, ‘Oh, I could win like this.’ And Sinner said, ‘No, not so fast.'”
Meanwhile, Casper Ruud chose to focus on the positives from his run, highlighting how it could prove to be “very crucial and important” for the rest of his season as he climbed eight spots to become the world No. 17. Having lost in the second round of the French Open last year, the two-time Roland Garros finalist also expressed hope that the momentum would spark a resurgence in Paris.
