Casper Ruud couldn’t have asked for a better moment at the Caja Mágica. He defeated Jack Draper by 7-5,3-6,6-4 in two and a half hours to clinch his first ATP Masters 1000 title of his career. With this, Ruud has become the first Norwegian to win a Masters 1000 title. His fiancée Maria Galligani witnessed this historic moment of his career from the stands. Ruud and Galligani have been dating since 2018. Over the years, she has established herself as one of the biggest supporters of Ruud. Last year, when Ruud won the Barcelona Open, the couple shared a kiss on the court before posing alongside the massive trophy for a beautiful family photo. Even this time, the tennis star didn’t forget to thank his beautiful fiancée for her support in the Madrid Final.
Both Casper Ruud and Maria Galligani never shy away from showcasing their love and support for each other. For example, on Valentine’s Day in 2022, Ruud shared a photo of himself with his girlfriend, donning formal attire with the caption, “My valentine every day see you soon.” Later on during the US Open, GalligaNi shared a photo of themselves showcasing her support for tennis with the caption, “So proud of you, my love, and your amazing team.” In November 2024, the couple announced their engagement through a social media post. Ruud even shared a series of pictures where they were seen embracing on a beach, and he captioned it with, “Can’t wait to marry you.“
Similarly, after winning the Madrid Open final, Ruud gave an adorable shoutout to his fiancée by saying, “To my beautiful fiancée Maria, who came yesterday to support. Thank you for giving me the last boost to finally get over the finish line. So, it’s been an amazing couple of weeks, thank you so much.” The couple then exchanged a sweet kiss and beamed with joy as they posed together with the newly-won trophy.
Speaking about Galligani’s incredible support, Casper Ruud was also heard saying, “It’s been incredible. I owe a lot of my success to all my closest ones. My family. My friends. My fiancée Maria. We got engaged last year so she’s been an incredible support for me over many years now…I’m really happy and it’s great I’m surrounded by amazing people. I’m a really lucky guy.”
Seeing their wonderful chemistry, one may wonder how tough it was for the tennis star to win the heart of this psychology graduate. Well, Ruud gave this answer during the 2025 AO. During a post-match interview, Ruud was asked what made him more nervous, playing against Rafael Nadal or asking Galligani to marry him. In reply to that, the Norwegian said, “The pulse got up there when I went down on my knees. It was a great moment…I don’t wanna say the wrong things. What I’m trying to say is I’ll never forget playing Rafa in a Slam final but for sure I’ll also never forget going down on my knees to Maria. It was a beautiful moment. I think it was a bigger moment.”
Despite being one of the most beloved couples in the tennis world, unlike most tennis couples, both Ruud and Galligani love to keep their lives private. What’s the real reason behind this? According to Casper Ruud, “She doesn’t want it. She wants to be her own, in control of her own kind of life and especially personal life. I’m happy that she’s found that way. I mean, it’s her choice. Obviously, we met before I got to the level I was at now, so things have changed for her, as well, and it hasn’t always been easy.” Maining a strong bond amid, tennis’ hectic schedules is a really tough job. But despite these challenges, Ruud says Maria has been “very, very patient and great with these things.”
Talking about challenges, winning the finals has been a major challenge for Casper Ruud in his tennis career. What did he say after beating Jack Draper in the Madrid final this time?
Casper Ruud takes a look back at his near misses after winning the Madrid Open
After being 0-6 down in the grand finales, including the French Open (2022,2023) and the US Open (2022), Casper Ruud finally got the chance to taste success at the Spanish capital, this Sunday. Before this match, Ruud suffered early exits (considering his high standards on clay) in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, winning just 3 out of his 5 matches across these two tournaments. What was his reaction after finally managing to cross the finish line this time?
“My record in big finals is still not good, it’s 1-6. I’ve been in many unbelievable and incredible positions in my career, and I’ve been able to experience some great things and, unfortunately, have been on the losing spectrum of many of those matches, but that’s okay. In many ways, my career has gone better than maybe I thought was possible sometimes. Of course, I always dreamed about winning tournaments like this or Grand Slams or becoming World No. 1, and I’ve been fairly close,” said Ruud.
After defeats in the 2022 Miami Open and last year’s Monte Carlo Masters, it was a third time lucky for the Norwegian superstar. With this win, he will now also return to the world’s top 10, rising to number 7. But he had to put in some hard yards in this epic battle. There were a few tense moments in the final set, and both these players got quite a few opportunities, but it was Ruud who managed to seal the deal in the last moment. Learning from his previous mistakes is what Casper Ruud says is key to his success. He also heaped praise on Draper for his incredible fight throughout the match.
Ruud will now look forward to keeping his winning momentum intact in Rome as well. He was the semifinalist at the Italian Open in 2020,2022 and 2023. How far do you think he can reach this time?
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