Pat Rafter: Casper Ruud's Serve at Laver Cup Was 'Unlike Anything I've Ever Seen' (2026)

Casper Ruud was excellent in his opening singles match as he gave Team Europe a 1-0 lead at the Laver Cup.

The Norwegian took on America’s Reilly Opelka in the first match of the 2025 Laver Cup, against whom he led the head-to-head 4-0.

Extending his head-to-head lead to 5-0, Ruud defeated Opelka in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6.

Ruud’s serve was on fire against Opelka, producing a truly clinical performance in San Francisco.

Reacting to the three-time major finalists’ efforts, Team World vice-captain Pat Rafter claimed Ruud had done something he’d never seen before.

Pat Rafter says Casper Ruud’s serving performance was unlike anything he’d ever seen before

During the post-match press conference, Rafter admitted there wasn’t much Opelka could do against Ruud.

“I don’t know what else Reilly [Opelka] can do here. Especially the surface, it doesn’t obviously really suit him very well. But in saying that, if it was fast, I still don’t know how you get back [Casper] Ruud’s serve today,” he said.

“I think he must have made over 20 to 25 first serves in a row. I looked across at Tim Henman and went, I’ve never ever seen a serving display like this in my life. He just said, I totally agree. It was impressive.

“When the guy is serving like that, there’s not much you can do.”

Ruud made 80% of his first serves against Opelka, as he powered Team Europe to a 1-0 lead.

Rafter sympathised with Opelka, who gave it his all, but just couldn’t keep up with the world number 12.

“Reilly hung in there, and he did everything he could. He had so much pressure on him. What I was really impressed with was if he lapses for half a split second any time in that second set, it’s 6-4, 6-4. He didn’t, and he held it together,” he said.

“He had to fight hard in a couple of service games. He did everything he could do. Yeah, you can go would have, could have, should have. Maybe I shouldn’t have played that slow forehand approach in the breaker, which cost him the point, but in hindsight, I know that’s always easy.

“I really couldn’t fault him. I was just sitting there going, Mate, you’re doing everything you can.”

Rafter wasn’t the only one impressed with Ruud’s serve, as Opelka himself heaped praise onto the Norwegian star.

Reilly Opelka says Casper Ruud is ‘one of the best servers’ on the ATP Tour

The American claimed Ruud’s serve matches up with the very best on the ATP Tour.

“His serve. Yeah, he’s one of the best servers in the world,” said Opelka.

When asked if Ruud’s serve is underrated, Opelka insisted that players recognize his quality.

“Not on the tour. Not from guys that play him and watch, who know,” he said.

“This guy was two in the world playing for the number one. He was a set away from it pretty much at the US Open.

“I mean, if you do that in today’s game with Novak [Djokovic] around and Carlos [Alcaraz] and Jannik [Sinner], that means you got a big serve and a big forehand at least.”

Opelka believes Ruud has one of the best serves on tour, but do the stats back that up?

Casper Ruud’s serving stats (Past 52 weeks)

• Serve rating – 275.6 (28th on ATP Tour)
• 1st Serve % – 66% (17th on ATP Tour)
• Win % on 1st Serve – 71.4% (51st on ATP Tour)
• Win % on 2nd Serve – 52.2% (30th on ATP Tour)
• Service game win % – 82.5% (33rd on ATP Tour)
• Average aces per match – 5.8 (51st on ATP Tour)

According to the Serve rating, a composite measure, Ruud has the 28th best serve in men’s tennis.

In comparison, Opelka has the seventh-best serve on the ATP Tour.

Reilly Opelka’s serving stats (Past 52 weeks)

• Serve rating – 291.9 (7th on ATP Tour)
• 1st Serve % – 61.4% (41st on ATP Tour)
• Win % on 1st Serve – 78.9% (4th on ATP Tour)
• Win % on 2nd Serve 51.4% (40th on ATP Tour)
• Service game win % – 88.3% (7th on ATP Tour)
• Average aces per match – 16.1 (1st on ATP Tour)

The stats seem to suggest Opelka is the better server, although that certainly wasn’t the case on Friday afternoon.

Opelka will hope his serve and overall game improve should he return to play another match at the 2025 Laver Cup.