From standing on the other side of the court against his idol, Rafael Nadal, at the French Open 2022. To playing on the same side of the court, and winning, Casper Ruud has traversed quite a journey. However, intentionally or not, the Norwegian today stands in the shoes of the Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer. He looks forward to carrying on his double journey at the Bastad Open, with Nadal in the doubles, at the expense of his singles tournament.

With the grass swing done and dusted, the focus has turned to the next destination, the Paris Olympics 2024. And as tennis stars come back to the clay courts of Paris to prepare for the quadrennial event, Ruud got the opportunity to play with Nadal in the doubles. While this was the Spaniard’s comeback event, Ruud turned out to be a great partner. And the recent acknowledgment came in the form of their names joined together.

After their win at Bastad, during the on-court interview, the Tennis TV posted a video of shocked Nadal when they made him aware of the recent acceptance of their partnership in the form of “Ruudal.” Marking a departure from the most popular partnership in the Big 3, “Fedal.” While it was a dream collaboration at the Laver Cup, during Federer’s retirement when the tennis circuit had a feast with tears in their eyes.

It seems, not only tennis fans but also Nadal has made a smooth transition to the ‘Ruudal.’ As in response to question, “What do you think of Ruudal?” Nadal said, ” “Aaaaah! OK. … Well I’ve had Fedal now Ruudal, so both.” More than anything, the Spaniard is happy to be back on the court and win a few matches to regain his form before stepping into the much awaited collaboration with the current French Open champion, Carlos Alcaraz.

Ruud’s partnership with Nadal marks the beginning of the new generation, making the most of the moment they get on the court with the legends. As they get ready to own the courts as the legends pass into the sunset to evolve outside tennis. And maybe because of this, the Norwegian was in high spirits despite crashing out of singles.

With Fedal and Ruudal already happened or happening, how would tennis fans ship Nadal and Alcaraz? But before thinking around 2 weeks into the future, one would certainly love to know what the 14-time Roland Garros champion thinks of the 2024 Clay court champion after his SW19 victory!

Rafael Nadal’s doubles partner at Paris Olympics is a “threat to every Grand Slam” 

While Ruudal is going well for both the tennis players, tennis fans must be anticipating a blast at the Paris Open, as the King of Clay steps on the red dirt to play for their nation with the ‘prince.’ With his glorious form on the tennis court, Alcaraz has become Royalty at the majors. Some consider him the king at the Grass Slam, who eased into his throne after successfully defending his crown. Somewhere supporting the claim, Nadal thinks that Alacarz is a threat on every court he steps on!

“No player was the favorite before every tournament and today I feel like he has that aura, that feeling. That’s a big advantage because I think he feels that [if] he’s playing at his level [that] it’s difficult for anyone to beat him,” said Nadal. It would be fascinating to see whether the Alcaraz threat could help Nadal make a glorious exit from his last Olympics!

However, it is peaceful to see the legends of past generations handing the baton to the upcoming generation in such a collaborative way! They play together, and they grow together!