Jannik Sinner’s dominance on the ATP Tour has led some people to compare him to a robot, AI, and machines. Casper Ruud has a contrasting view of the Italian and has claimed that the world No. 1 is not receiving the proper appreciation.
Sinner is on a historic run at the moment, having won the last five ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. He is also on a 24-match winning streak and is now looking to become only the second player in history to complete the Career Golden Masters at the Italian Open.
Casper Ruud Rubbishes Jannik Sinner “Robot” Comparisons
After losing to Sinner at Indian Wells, João Fonseca compared him to a “robot”. Since then, many tennis analysts and even some critics have followed suit, commenting on his incredible consistency and on-court demeanor.
Andy Roddick followed suit, comparing him to “AI” and saying he is “changing and morphing in real time.”
Ruud feels that some of the comments about Sinner’s dominance lack appreciation for the incredible run he is on at the moment.
“I see a lot of people, not criticizing, but saying that he’s a little bit too much of a robot. But when you realize how difficult tennis is, and if you can make tennis look robotic, it shows how good you are. It should honestly just be a compliment of showing a sport that is not simple at all, to make it look that kind of easy as he is doing is just incredibly impressive,” he said to Ziggo Sport on Sunday.
Ruud also said that Sinner’s dominance means that he has a bigger target on his back as other players chase after him. He added that the world No. 1’s run is an inspiration to him as he looks to return to the top level of tennis.
“All the other players are after him now. The more he wins, the bigger the target on his back. But he keeps beating everyone. It’s just incredible and inspirational to see what he is doing,” he added.
‘I see so many people saying he is too much of a 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐭’ 🤖
Casper Ruud neemt het op voor Jannik Sinner. De Noor vindt dat de nummer één van de wereld niet altijd op waarde wordt geschat 💬
🎾 ATP 1000: Rome
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🍿 Ziggo Sport 4#ZiggoSport #ATP #IBI26 pic.twitter.com/jiaofIPSC3— Ziggo Sport (@ZiggoSport) May 10, 2026
Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, has lost all four of his matches against Sinner. But the 27-year-old has 12 clay-court titles to his name, and will have his sights set on a deep run at the French Open this year. He has already made two finals at Roland Garros (2022, 2023), and will fancy his chances of a successful run in Paris in the absence of Carlos Alcaraz.
The Norwegian has started his clay-court swing strongly and is through to the fourth round of the Italian Open after defeating Jiří Lehečka in straight sets on Sunday.
