Casper Ruud and his partner, Maria Galligani, welcomed their firstborn daughter in January, and the Norwegian enjoyed some downtime with his family before returning to the tour. Although Ruud has often spoken publicly about his daughter, he was forced to clear up confusion about her name at the Italian Open after it was falsely linked to Rafael Nadal.
Casper Ruud Dismisses Rumors About His Daughter’s Name
Ruud has advanced to the fourth round of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome after claiming a dominant 6-3, 6-4 win over Jiří Lehečka. He appeared on the Tennis Channel after his victory, where tennis reporter Brett Haber questioned whether his daughter’s name is Rafaella.
The Norwegian quickly cleared up the confusion over his daughter’s name, confirming her name is Camilla and disclosing that he has also seen the false claim circulating online.
“It’s not Rafaella. That was probably fake news. The right name is Camilla. I saw that too. Someone on Facebook I think,” Ruud said.
The reporter’s mix-up stemmed from a viral post from a popular parody account that jokingly claimed Ruud had named his daughter after Rafael Nadal.
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After clearing the air, the 27-year-old opened up about the life-changing experience of fatherhood and spoke warmly about the joy his daughter brings to his day.
“It’s been great. It’s been really nice and puts your life in perspective in a different way. It’s definitely life-changing, off the court definitely for the better and I try to do my job on the court,” he said.
“A couple of extra things to think about, but I try to leave it for time off the court and she just brings a good smile on my face when I see her when I come back to the hotels and back home. I look forward to everything that comes with fatherhood and the years to come.”
Ruud also said he hasn’t had to endure sleepless nights soothing his newborn daughter, disclosing that he has gladly accepted the extra expense of traveling with a nanny so he can stay well-rested during tournaments.
“I haven’t done too much honestly. I have done a few back home, but at tournaments we have a nanny with us who does the nights. “I mean that’s kind of a expense you have to accept on tournaments because you need obviously the full night of sleep. It’s a little bit of an extra expense but it’s worth it and I get to see her in the days and in the evenings,” he added.
Up next, Casper Ruud will lock horns with home favorite Lorenzo Musetti in a blockbuster fourth-round clash at the Italian Open. A victory will send Ruud into the quarterfinals, where he will face the winner of the match between Karen Khachanov and Dino Prižmić.
