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Casper Ruud’s early exit at the 2024 Italian Open has had a silver lining. The tennis player and his girlfriend Maria Galligani recently joined the King and Queen of Norway on a royal date at his hometown, Oslo.
Ruud was most recently in action at the ongoing Masters 1000 event in Rome. The Norwegian, who’s had a spectacular claycourt campaign so far, making the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters and winning the title in Barcelona, was defending his semifinal run at the Italian Open. However, his run came to a grinding halt with an uncharacteristic 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Miomir Kecmanovic in his opening match.
A royal invitation from King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway, though, seems to have more than made up for Casper Ruud’s early defeat. On Tuesday, May 14, he and his girlfriend of six years, Maria, attended the gala dinner at the Royal Palace in Oslo. The event was hosted by the Norwegian royals for Denmark’s new King Frederik X and Queen Mary on their 20th wedding anniversary.
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Casper Ruud and Maria Galligani opted for a monochromatic look – the tennis player donned a chic tailcoat three-piece suit in black and white and paired it with a bowtie. Galligani, meanwhile, dazzled in a satin-silk halter neck dress. The couple walked hand-in-hand as they were greeted to a saxophone melody.
As per reports, a total of 201 guests from both Nordic countries attended the gala dinner. Before the event, Ruud told NRK:
"It is an honor; this will be very grand. It's not what I'm most used to, so I'm a little more nervous than when I play matches."
"But it will be an honor to meet the Danish royal couple. I feel very lucky to be here," he added (translated from Norwegian via Google Translate).
Casper Ruud posed with his girlfriend Maria after winning Barcelona Open 2024
Casper Ruud won the 2024 Barcelona Open title by exacting revenge against Stefanos Tsitsipas who beat him in the Monte-Carlo Masters final the week before. The title was his 11th overall and his first of the season after three final losses.
Ruud previously won 10 ATP 250 titles - all but one coming on clay. The ATP 500 triumph in Barcelona is thus his biggest career title yet.
Following his win, the three-time Grand Slam finalist celebrated with his family and friends who were present in his box to cheer him on. Ruud also enjoyed his girlfriend Maria Galligani’s company. The couple posed for pictures with the trophy and Galligani gave the tennis player a loving kiss on the cheek.
After his royal visit, Casper Ruud is expected to resume his claycourt campaign at the Geneva Open (May 18-25), where he’s twice been the champion (2021, 2022). Following his run on the Swiss clay, the 25-year-old will head to Paris, where he would be hoping to make his third French Open final on the trot, crossing the finish line this time around.
