Casper Ruud reveals the truth behind his shock Acapulco walkover minutes before match

Casper Ruud joined a list of seeded players pulling out of the event in Acapulco after suffering from a stomach ailment. The Norwegian was scheduled to face Pacheco Mendez in the second round but gave the Mexican a walkover.

Ruud raced through his first-round match 6-4, 6-3 against Arthur Rinderknech and was scheduled to take on 19-year-old local lad Mendez on Wednesday, February 26. However, he pulled out of the event and the Mexican received a walkover before even entering the court for their match.

Later, taking to Instagram, Ruud announced he was suffering from a stomach ailment. He wrote in the caption of his post:

"I’m so sorry I had to pull out tonight. I was hoping to overcome this stomach illness that showed up yesterday and tried everything I could to be able to play tonight, until the very last moment 🤒. Hoping to come back stronger in a couple of days and come back here to Mexico next year. Thanks for now, Acapulco ❤️!"

This comes hours after Holger Rune also retired mid-match in Acapulco at the ATP 500 event. The Dane was taking on Brandon Nakashima and was down 0-3 before retiring from the match. He took to X to share about his ailment and wrote:

"Furious and so sad at the same time. Had a food poisoning and was unable to play today. One of my favorite places is Mexico and I love this tournament @AbiertoTelcel . Absolutely not the way I wanted it to end"

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Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, and the rest of the Top 5 seeds bow out of Acapulco

Casper Ruud at the ATP 500 Dallas Open 2025 - Source: Getty

The top seed in Acapulco, Alexander Zverev bowed out of the second round after a 3-6, 4-6 defeat against 19-year-old qualifier Learner Tien. The German is facing a slump in form after his impressive run to the final at the Australian Open. He has not advanced to the semifinal of the past three events in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.

Second seed Casper Ruud pulled out due to stomach illness just minutes before his second-round match against Pacheco Mendez. Third seed Tommy Paul was also forced to give his opponent, compatriot Marcos Giron, a walkover before their second-round match due to a stomach problem.

Fourth seed Holger Rune retired mid-match against Brandon Nakashima before revealing he was suffering from food poisoning. Meanwhile, fifth seed Ben Shelton was ousted by David Goffin after a 6-7, 3-6 loss.