The ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco lost two of its top three seeds even without them hitting the court as Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul both pulled out of their respective round-of-16 matches due to stomach issues.
After beating Arthur Rinderknech in two sets in his Acapulco opener, the second-seeded Norwegian was due to play Mexican wildcard Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez on Wednesday.
But the three-time Grand Slam finalist never entered the court for his match.
However, Ruud was quick to provide an explanation, revealing that he started battling a stomach illness a day earlier and his condition failed to improve.
“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,” Ruud wrote on Instagram.
“Hoping to come back stronger in a couple of days and come back here to Mexico next year. Thanks for now, Acapulco!”
Ruud, Paul withdrew before their matches; Holger Rune played but quickly retired
Just as was the case with the Norwegian, No. 3 seed Paul wasn’t able to get to the court for his round-of-16 match against Marcos Giron.
After the American’s withdrawal was announced, a stomach issue was listed as the reason.
Meanwhile, world No. 13 Rune took to the court for his match against Brandon Nakashima.
But after losing the opening three games of the match, the Dane retired.
Players dropping like flies today at ATP 500 Acapulco today.
After Tommy Paul withdrew just before his match with stomach issues, Rune retired down 0-3 in first and now Casper Ruud has also withdrawn.
Not sure if those latter two are officially for stomach reasons also yet.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) February 27, 2025
Later, he said he was dealing with food poisoning.
With that being said, Ruud and Paul may have also gotten food poisoning in Acapulco.
Tennis World USA