22-years old Dane Holger Rune ended the current season early due to a severe Achilles injury.
He experienced a sound in the Achilles tendon of his left foot while playing the semifinal game at the important tournament in Stockholm. At that point, the Dane was leading 6:4, 2:2 against Frenchman Ugo Humbert. But instead of getting an easy win in two sets, Rune only got tears of pain as he was forced to retire with the help of a physio. The athlete's Achilles tendon had completely ruptured in the proximal part. Just a few days after the incident, Holger underwent surgery which would leave him with a long rehabilitation. Recovery won't be easy, as such injuries always seem unpleasant and unpredictable, so it's hard to predict now when the Dane will return to the court. If we manage to see him in action next summer, it can be considered a success.
Despite his young age, Rune has already obtained lots of fans and haters. At just 19 years old, he made history at Roland Garros by becoming the first Dane ever to play in a Grand Slam singles quarterfinal. In 2022, once again in Paris, he secured his first ATP 1000 title. On the way to this triumph, he defeated five out of top 10 ATP ranking players, including Alcaraz and Djokovic. Following this, Rune climbed top 10 himself, standing #4 at his peak. As the current season draws to a close, Holger Rune has collected five ATP trophies, made it to several ATP 1000 finals (Monte-Carlo, Rome, Indian Wells), and reached quarterfinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. At some point, media suggested that Rune would be an essential part of the new «Big Three», destined to succeed the original Big Three: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. The Dane himself was also pleased with such praise.
And now we've reached a point of clarity regarding why a player as skilled as Holger Rune has an equivalent number of critics and fans. Holger Rune is a hot-headed, emotional, and talkative guy. In recent years, tennis referees, fans, and even colleagues Stan Wawrinka and Casper Ruud have fallen under his hot temper. Sometimes his life on and off the court resembles uncontrolled chaos. It's enough to listen to the confessions of Russians Veronika Kudermetova and Anna Kalinskaya, who said Holger wrote to them, trying to initiate contact and draw their attention. After the "classic" Rafa and Roger, such behavior only evokes a smile from fans, but more incomprehension.
Another con to Rune and his team is a lack of desire to admit their own mistakes. As a rule, Holger blames everyone, but himself: the fans, the coaches, ATP, and etc. This list is infinite. Sometimes, there is a feeling that Stan Wawrinka was right in saying to Rune at the net after one of their matches: «My advice to you is that you stop acting like a baby on court».
We all know the saying: «Every cloud has a silver lining». And it seems that after two rather underwhelming seasons, Rune needed a significant adjustment (ideally not too drastic) to gain an objective view of himself. Now there's plenty of time for that. But simply "observing" isn't enough. Will Holger decide to make drastic changes in his career and be able to mature on demand? That's the big question. It's always tempting to avoid change, especially since Holger has, at times, secured impressive results on the court even with his existing strategy. However, almost everyone agrees that his coaching problems, physical issues, and inconsistent return and backhand play are unlikely to elevate the Dane to a legendary tennis status..
After all, whatever path Rune chooses, the most important thing is that it doesn't end up like the full implication of the saying: «Every cloud has a silver lining, and then even more comes along».
