When the ATP Finals were announced, the tennis world buzzed with the possibility of two high-profile showdowns. Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz, with the two being drawn into the same group. However, his duel with the Serbian legend will have to wait. Following Djokovic’s victory at the Hellenic Championship on Sunday, the 24x Grand Slam champion decided to withdraw from the ATP Finals for the second year in a row. And while his decision left fans disappointed, one lucky loser is benefiting significantly from the same.

Now, for the uninitiated, a lucky loser in tennis refers to an athlete who lost in the qualifiers. However, after a player from the main draw is unable to carry on, the lucky loser is called up. And that is exactly what happened with Casper Ruud, so to speak, though there aren’t any qualifiers for the ATP Finals. To get a detailed picture, let’s go back to how the race for the qualification went this year. As Felix Auger-Alissime secured the final place due to Lorenzo Musetti’s defeat to Djokovic in Athens, Musetti made it through by virtue of Djokovic’s withdrawal.

Meanwhile, Musetti and Alexander Bublik were initially slated as the first and second alternates. However, with Musetti now through to the main draw, Bublik became the first alternate. Such a situation meant that the second alternate spot had to be filled, and it was Ruud who was next in line. Now, as per the rules, the Norwegian tennis star will be pocketing a whopping $155k in appearance fees without playing a single match.

Ruud was enjoying his holiday when he agreed to fly out as an alternative. And during Alcaraz’s match against Alex De Minaur, the Norwegian was spotted in the stands. Now then, if either one of Bublik or Ruud gets to play one match, they would get an additional $164k on top of the $155k appearance fee.

And history favors the two alternates – it was only in 2021 when both alternates wound up playing in the main draw, which even prompted the calling up of a third. Back then it was injuries to Matteo Berrettini and Stefanos Tsitsipas that prompted the entry of Jannik Sinner and Cameron Norrie, while third alternate Aslan Karatsev remained on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, in 2025, despite the World No. 10 failing to qualify for the Finals, Ruud had some significant success less than a month back.

A late season win for Casper Ruud amidst exits

Casper Ruud, an ATP Finals finalist in 2022, has faced a mixed bag of a season. He suffered early exits in all the Grand Slams, while he pulled out of Wimbledon with a knee injury. Though he won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Madrid all the way back in May, the Norwegian was unable to capitalize on that success. The disappointments continued, but just last month the ATP star turned his fortunes around to secure victory in Stockholm.

Competing at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open, Ruud came face-to-face with Ugo Humbert in the final. While Humbert did provide some resistance, the Norwegian star dominated the game and won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. To further give a glimpse of his dominance, Ruud dropped his serve just three times and hit 22 winners to wrap up the game in 68 minutes.

Following his win, Ruud initially congratulated his opponent for the gritty display. Next up, he expressed his elation after a hard-fought victory. “I am really happy to win here in Stockholm, and it is a little bit of a childhood dream, as it is close to Norway, and all the legends have played here in the past. Federer, Nadal, Borg, McEnroe, you name it. So it is an honor to get a title here,” said Ruud.

Though the win was followed up with quarterfinal and first-round exits in Vienna and Paris, his win in Sweden was nonetheless a bright spot in a flagging season. Whether he can use it as motivation should he step on the court in Turin is another question, but one that fans will be eager to see answered if he gets his moment.