Alex de Minaur pinpoints what went wrong after losing his first match of the season against Casper Ruud.

Alex de Minaur’s 2026 season has started with a defeat at the United Cup.

In front of a home crowd, the Australian fell to former world number two Casper Ruud in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

Norway’s Ruud levelled the tie at the international tournament following the country’s loss in women’s singles earlier in the day.

After his defeat, de Minaur faced the media and admitted what went wrong in the first performance of his 2026 campaign.

Alex de Minaur reacts to losing to Casper Ruud at the United Cup
In his post-match press conference, de Minaur said: “It’s not really part of my DNA to throw in so many double faults. I think today more than anything was just getting used to the conditions.

“I struggled a little bit playing at night. A little bit heavier. It felt like, yeah, I wasn’t able to get that feeling on my serve of kicking it in, which again, in the past, I’ve had no problem doing.

“I know he’s got to stand far back, and he’s going to look to try to hit a heavy ball and start into the rally, but I’m not necessarily… I’m alright with starting the point like that. It just lost a little bit of rhythm, more than anything.

“I think Casper came out today playing super aggressively, right? He executed that game plan, which again, sometimes he’s just going to stay too good.

“It’s probably not the way he normally plays. He normally likes to stay in rallies a little bit longer. Today, he was going for all his shots, and they were landing in. He deserved to win.”