Holger Rune has very honestly said that there have been mistakes on his part over the last few years and also appeared to indicate that some of the coaching decisions he made “were not the right fit.”
If you remember well, the Dane had an outstanding finish to the 2022 season, making four consecutive finals – he won Stockholm and the Paris Masters while he finished as runner-up in Sofia and Basel. His maiden Masters triumph was especially impressive, considering that he upset Novak Djokovic in his last match of 2022 in Paris.
After becoming a Masters champion and also breaking into the top-10 for the first time in his career, Rune – who was 19 at the time – underlined that his next big goal was to win a Grand Slam and reach the world No. 1 position in 2023. But he didn’t come anywhere near that goal, only making two Slam quarterfinals and his lone title being the ATP 250 tournament in Munich.
This year, the Dane had a first round, a second round, and two round-of-16 outings in Majors. Also, he didn’t win any titles and has dropped outside the top-10 – he is ranked at No. 13.
While Rune failed to elevate his game and win on the biggest stage, 23-year-old Jannik Sinner and 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz split Slams between them this year and established themselves as the two best players in the game.
“Sometimes when you are winning, you think you should train the same, but everyone else trains so much harder because they want to beat you. So you need to follow the train in a way and I think I am back doing that. I’m willing to improve and listen to my team to do what I need to do,” the 21-year-old told Tennis365.
“I have always believed in myself, but over the last one and a half years, I haven’t put the right work in. Now I am putting the right work in I hope the rewards will come. Without the specific tennis, fitness and mental things we are working on, it won’t happen. Everyone can say they want to win a Grand Slam, but you need to put the right work in.”
Holger Rune© Holger Rune/Instagram – Fair Use
Rune: Every coach I had did his best for my tennis but it needs to fit the person…
After hiring Boris Becker in late 2023, the Dane looked better and they confirmed they would renew their partnership for 2024. Then, the former world No. 4 also added Roger Federer’s ex-coach Severin Luthi to his team in the preseason.
At the time, the 21-year-old arguably had the strongest coaching staff since Becker worked with Djokovic for years and Luthi had a history with Federer. However, the excitement and the high expectations for those partnerships quickly ended. After a shock Australian Open second-round loss to Arthur Cazaux, Rune decided to part ways with both star coaches in a span of a couple of days. He has since reunited with his childhood coach Lars Christensen and also works with Kenneth Carlsen.
When asked what he meant by the remark that he “did not put the right work in,” the Dane explained. “I can only blame myself because the decisions were all made by me. Every coach I’ve had and every person I’ve had has done the best they can do for my tennis, but it needs to fit the person and I think it’s really, really personal to have the right people. There are not hundreds of guys out there, but it’s about having the right people in your team who can give me what I want to improve my game and I feel like I have that now.”
Rune’s game was recently criticized by legendary Jim Courier
In early November, the Dane exited the Paris Masters in the semifinal after Alexander Zverev handed him a 6-3 7-6 (4) loss.
During that match, former four-time Grand Slam champion Courier was doing commentary. At one point, he ripped the 21-year-old’s game as “immature” and added that the world No. 13 “needed a sense of order” if he wanted to challenge the best in the game.
“I, for one, have no idea what he’s trying to do out here. It’s just all happening instinctively – it’s like a full-blown jazz exploration out here. No rhyme, no rhythm. There’s a lot of great things happening, it’s just all scattershot and that is not a recipe for long-term success. It’s still a very immature game. If he wants to be with the big boys consistently, he’s gonna have to find something he can rely on rather than throwing paint against the wall and seeing what it looks like when it’s all said and done. He just needs a sense of order – doesn’t have it,” former world No. 1 Courier said on Tennis Channel during the match.
It will be interesting to see if Rune can bounce back in 2025 and contend for the biggest titles.
Tennis World USA