Casper Ruud just learned a tough lesson about tennis: sometimes the slowest serves are the hardest to return.
The Norwegian star made it all the way to the US Open mixed doubles final alongside Iga Swiatek. But they ran into something pretty unusual – Sara Errani’s ridiculously slow serve that somehow kept fooling top players.
A Wild Run to the Final
Ruud and Swiatek’s partnership almost didn’t happen. The Polish star had to make a crazy dash from the Cincinnati Open final to New York.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casper Ruud | 26 | 4,025 | 39 - 10 |
She literally got to her hotel room just 12 hours before their first match.
But they made it work. The duo steamrolled through Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys 4-1, 4-2 in round one. Then they took down Lorenzo Musetti and Caty McNally with the exact same score.
Their semifinal against Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula was pretty spectacular. They won 3-5, 5-3, 10-8 in an hour and 26 minutes.
Then came the final against Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani.
The Italians won 6-3, 5-7, 10-6, but it wasn’t just their overall game that stood out.
The 70 MPH Problem
Errani’s serve is genuinely bizarre by professional tennis standards. The 38-year-old Italian stands just 5 feet 5 inches tall, and her serves average around 70 mph.
That’s really slow.
For context, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard hit a 153 mph serve at Wimbledon this year. Taylor Fritz was on the receiving end of that rocket – and he actually won the point.
But at the US Open, Fritz struggled with Errani’s 70 mph serves. So did Andrey Rublev, Christian Harrison, and Ruud himself.
It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.
Why Slow Serves Are So Tricky
After the final, Ruud explained what makes Errani’s serve so frustrating to return. It’s not really about the serve itself.
“Singles players don’t think about crossing when someone serves at 70 miles an hour. It’s like a fear for us of crossing. We’re not used to that. We’re not used to seeing that on our own return.”
The real problem is Andrea Vavassori’s movement at the net. He’s incredibly quick and covers so much ground that returners can’t find safe spots to hit.
“The most frustrating thing is you feel like you hit a good return, he’s there, he puts away a volley. You have it all going in your head, Don’t hit where he is, don’t hit where he is. He covers a lot in the middle, then suddenly he chooses a side.”
It’s like a mental game within the game.
You’d think having more time to react would make returns easier. But when the net player is that good, extra time doesn’t help much.
Finding a Way Through
Eventually, Ruud figured out his strategy: just pick a spot and commit.
“At the end I told myself to just pick a spot. If he’s there and hits a volley, too good. I think we broke her at least twice. I don’t think she was broken until the final during the whole tournament.”
That’s actually pretty impressive. Errani went the entire tournament without getting broken until the final.
Ruud and Swiatek managed to break her serve twice, which was probably more than most teams accomplished.
“It’s just a mix of her coming at a different pace and him moving incredibly well. They know each other well. They play with each other every slam. They make a good fit.”
The Italian pair’s chemistry really showed. They’ve been playing together at Grand Slams for a while now, and that experience makes a huge difference in doubles.
Ruud summed it up perfectly: "It’s been kind of fun and frustrating seeing that we shank forehand returns when we’re not supposed to."
Sometimes in tennis, the most unexpected challenges are the toughest ones to solve. A 70 mph serve shouldn’t trouble professional players – but when it’s part of a well-oiled doubles machine, it becomes a pretty effective weapon.
