Blumberg & Ruud: A friendship & doubles tandem at Wimbledon

The doubles draw at Wimbledon is studded with star players, from the top doubles tandems to singles standouts like Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. One of the most interesting duos is three-time major finalist Casper Ruud and his longtime friend, William Blumberg.

Why is the No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings teaming with an American who went to the University of North Carolina? Ruud and Blumberg’s story dates back to their days as juniors.

“He was the No. 1 junior in the world at a point I was No. 4. And really it started a lot when I went on a trip to Chengdu, China for the ITF Junior Masters,” Blumberg said. “We hung out a lot there. We went to a panda sanctuary and we joked around. And then as we got older, we stayed in touch a bit, but not very much.

“After college, we reconnected and hung out. We bond over the same things, we're pretty similar. We both love golf, obsess over golf and play golf. He's unbelievable at golf, and I try. So we have a lot of the same things, similar values. His girlfriend's friends with my wife now… just a nice friendship.”

Blumberg, now 26, and Ruud, 25, were also close with Miomir Kecmanovic and the memories they created together in their teens keeps them close today. Blumberg, a three-time ATP Tour doubles titlist, has partnered both and claimed a crown with Kecmanovic in 2022 at Los Cabos.

“I left school at 14, so just like them, they were doing online school. You travel every week. So when you see each other and you have guys that are similar, you have the same values and you just reconnect,” Blumberg said. “So it's nice, you're all trying to achieve similar things. And so that's obviously important as well, but it's really nice.”

Last year, Blumberg spent a week in Norway with Ruud between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

“We talked about me visiting Norway because it's amazing there. It's amazing in the summer, it was my first time. And we just found a week that made sense,” Blumberg said. “I had a week where I wasn't playing a tournament and he was like, 'Hey, come practise'. For me, it was a great opportunity to practise with one of the best players in the world and a good friend of mine. So yeah, it was amazing. And my wife came and his girlfriend was there. And so we just had a really nice time.”

Not only does Blumberg enjoy spending time on court with his friend, but he is also able to learn from competing with one of the best players in the world.

“It's great. I would argue that he has one of the best forehands on the planet Earth, maybe the best forehand on the planet Earth. So for me to watch that, watch his preparation, [is great],” Blumberg said. “Honestly, just having the opportunity to play with a player like him and really be at the Slams and watch all the top players, watch all the top Americans that have come up that I knew when I was young, just watch them, watch them work and watch these top guys. And for me to watch him up close is amazing.

“He's given me a lot of great opportunities... I thank him for that, but it's also nice just playing with a friend.”

Blumberg has also bonded with Ruud over their love of golf. But beyond sports, the 10-time college All-American pointed to his Norwegian friend’s character.

“To be honest, I'm a pretty reasonable person, we're on different levels,” Blumberg said. “He treats everyone kindly with respect as do a lot of the guys that I grew up with. But to be that same guy at that level… it's good. But it's a little bit of a grander scale for him. And so for him to still be like that, if he sat down with you, he'd treat you with the same respect that anyone would and I think that tells a lot about him as a person.”