Rafael Nadal sends message to Casper Ruud after he announces the birth of his first child

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Casper Ruud has announced that he has become a father for the first time over the weekend.

Ruud was expecting his first child with his wife, Maria, and the pair had already announced that they were having a daughter.

Due to the timing of the pregnancy, Ruud revealed that he may even have to withdraw from the Australian Open as his daughter could arrive at the same time as the first Grand Slam of the year.

However, after losing in the fourth round to Ben Shelton, Ruud had enough time to head home to Norway to be present for the arrival of his daughter.

Rafael Nadal congratulates Casper Ruud on the birth of his daughter

Attached to a picture on social media of his newborn daughter holding his finger, Ruud announced that she had arrived safely into the world on Saturday, January 30.

Ruud wrote on Instagram, “30.01.2026 (love heart emoji). Thank you for all beautiful messages these last couple of weeks. Maria and our baby are doing great.”

The couple have been flooded with messages of congratulations since the arrival of their daughter, including from Rafael Nadal.

Nadal watched the Australian Open final in person, and after he found time to message Ruud, who trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy growing up.

Nadal, who has two children of his own, simply wrote, “Many congrats!!! (love heart eyes emoji).”

The 22-time Grand Slam champion was one of many former and current players to congratulate Ruud, which also includes Holger Rune, Tommy Paul and Belinda Bencic.

When is Casper Ruud next scheduled to play a tournament?

Following the birth of his first child, Ruud is actually scheduled to return to the match court just this week.

Norway have a Davis Cup Qualifier tie against Great Britain in Oslo this weekend, with Ruud currently set to lead his nation against the likes of Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie.

Ruud is then set to head to North America for a series of ATP events, starting at the Dallas Open, where he finished as runner-up to Denis Shapovalov last year.

The world number 12 is actually entered into tournaments for the next six consecutive weeks across North America.

This will begin in Dallas, with Ruud then entered into tournaments in Delray Beach and Acapulco, before then competing in the sunshine double of Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

However, following the birth of his baby daughter, there appears to be a strong possibility that Ruud may change these plans to spend more time with his family.