"Not me who designed it, I just put up with what I get" - Casper Ruud on criticism over his Danish-looking outfit at Paris Olympics

Casper Ruud has made a perfect start to his maiden Olympics campaign at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. But Ruud's outfit, with its interesting colour pattern, attracted more attention among fans than his performance on court.

The Norwegian is seeded sixth in the men's singles draw in Paris, and faced Taro Daniel of Japan in the opening round on July 28. Ruud was broken in the first game but recovered well to break Daniel back twice at the end of the first set to take the lead. The former World No. 2 ran away with the match in the second set.

Ruud broke his Japanese rival two times in the second set to register a 7-5, 6-1 in nearly 90 minutes. But while the two-time Roland Garros finalist's peformance was on point, according to tennis fans, his kit was not.

Casper Ruud wore a Yonex-designed red and white shorts and t-shirt combination, with a white and black line running through them. The outfit notably missed the blue colour present in the Norwegian flag.

According to many, it resembled the Denmark flag more than the Norway flag. The kit received plenty of flak on social media, with some even accusing him of being indifferent to what he wore at a global event where he was presenting his nation.

Ruud acknowledged the criticism and said the kit was not best designed to represent Norway. He added, however, that he did not choose the color scheme and that he wore what was provided to him.

"I would have liked to see a little more blue in it myself. It is not me who designed it, and I just put up with what I get. But yes, I missed blue," Casper Ruud told the Norwegian publication NRK.

The 25-year-old wore blue shoes to complement the outfit but agreed that it was not enough to overcome the Danish appearance.

"Now I have a bit of blue on my shoes, and a Norwegian flag there. But it is very little. So yes, I will give feedback that we can get something blue. I can't promise anything, but I missed something blue," Ruud continued.

Casper Ruud to face Andrea Vavassori in Paris Olympics 2R

Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud has progressed to the second round of the 2024 Paris Olympics and will come up against Andrea Vavassori of Italy for a place in the third round. Vavassori did not initially qualify for the singles format at Paris but entered the main draw as an alternate after top seed Jannik Sinner's withdrawal.

Vavassori surprised many with his performance in his opening-round contest against Pedro Martinez of Spain, emerging victorious 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The winner of Ruud and Vavassori's second-round match will face either 10th seed Ugo Humbert of France or Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the third round.

Casper Ruud is among the favourites to finish on the podium at the Paris Olympics, given his history on Parisian clay. The Norwegian finished runner-up at the French Open in 2022 and 2023 and reached the semifinals in 2024.