Norwegian Casper Ruud said after losing in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters Tennis Championship to Carlos Alcarras that former world number three Spaniard David Ferrer will join his technical team in the 2027 season.
Ferrer, who is set to step down as Spain's Davis Cup captain after the final tournament this month, will work alongside Christian Ruud, the player's father, and Pedro Clarr, within the 27-year-old Casper's technical team.
Spaniard Ferrer, who reached the French Open final in 2013, coached Alexander Zverev in 2020 and 2021 shortly after his retirement in 2019.
Ruud wrote in a post on Instagram after his 6-4, 6-4 loss to Alcarras yesterday (Saturday): “Good news spreads quickly!” David Ferrer will be joining the team next year and it goes without saying that we are all very excited about what is to come.”
The appointment comes after a disappointing season for Ruud, who reached three Grand Slam finals and was previously ranked number two in the world.
The Norwegian player did not win any title in 2026, the first time this has happened since 2019, which led to his decline to 23rd place in the world rankings.
Garbine Muguruza, director of the Women's Tennis Finals, said that Elena Rybakina's withdrawal from the tournament on the eve of its start was disappointing, but the world number one needs time to recover from the physical stress caused by a year full of competitions.
Rybakina, the defending champion, withdrew from the tournament yesterday (Saturday), saying that she was not physically ready to compete, which paved the way for Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk to replace her among the group of eight players participating in “Indian Wells.”
The tournament organizers later announced that her infection with a viral illness was the official reason for withdrawal.
Muguruza, the former world number one who won two major tournament titles, said that she spoke with Rybakina and that the Kazakh player was unable to recover in time after suffering from physical problems late in the season.
Muguruza told Reuters: “We love Elena and we know that she was not feeling her best in Tokyo either... I spoke to her today (yesterday), and she really was not able to recover in time.”
She added: “What we want is for you to feel comfortable, take a break and recover.” "We don't want her to feel like she has to play unless she's ready."
Rybakina, who has won two Grand Slam titles this year, also withdrew from the quarter-finals in Tokyo last month due to a neck injury.
Rybakina's absence deprives the tournament of some star shine, but Muguruza said that the league system and the strength of the entries will ensure that a tournament is held at a high level.
Muguruza, who was crowned champion of the final tournament in Wadi Al-Hajara in 2021, added: “We have the best female players.”
She continued: “I know that the world number one will not be able to play, but we have a wonderful group of players, the best ever.”
She added: “Every match can be a final in one of the major tournaments. You really have to be prepared. "You cannot show any leniency."
The name Kostyuk, who is participating for the first time in the final tournament after a season full of achievements that included winning the Madrid title and rising to the top ten, was already present in “Indian Wells” as a substitute, and she was training when Rybakina withdrew.
Muguruza said the Ukrainian player, known for her signature backflip celebrations after matches, deserved this opportunity.
She added: “Marta is amazing. “I have achieved great accomplishments this year.” She continued: “We have a number of female players participating in the final tournament for the first time in this year’s edition, and this is very exciting.” “It is very difficult to qualify.”
Kostyuk has been outspoken in her stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and does not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian competitors. Muguruza said that the tournament will support female players in making their own decisions.
“They have the freedom to do what they feel,” she explained. We are open and support them.”
Briton Willie Hutchinson defeated his compatriot Joshua Buatsi by unanimous decision, yesterday (Saturday), to win the vacant World Boxing Council light heavyweight title.
The judges scored the results of the fight, which was held at the AO Arena in Manchester, at 117-112, 115-113 and 115-113, as Hutchinson avenged his loss in 2024 to the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, during the fight that was held before Daniel Dubois meets to defend his IBF heavyweight title against Anthony Joshua at Wembley.
American David Benavidez, who had never been defeated before, relinquished the title last month, to continue his cruiserweight career.
Russian Dmitry Bivol, the world light heavyweight champion from the WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine, is scheduled to defend his titles against Briton Callum Smith in Yekaterinburg on December 12.
