Rune: “I want to come back feeling like I’ve developed”
Holger Rune reflects on his Achilles tendon tear, expressing relief it occurred on court rather than through a ‘stupid’ accident. After months of recovery, the former world No. 4 is now playing practice sets and eyes a return to competition, starting with the UTS finale.
Holger Rune, 2026 | © Ella Crovetto / Creafeed Scriine for MTG
More than 300 days after tearing his Achilles tendon, Holger Rune says he is closing in on a return – and has made peace with how the injury happened in the first place.
“I’m glad it happened during a match and not while I was doing something stupid, like running after something in the street,” Rune said in an interview with Göteborgs-Posten, published ahead of his UTS Tour appearance in Gothenburg this December. “If I had to suffer a serious injury, I’d rather it happened on the tennis court. Of course it was unfortunate, but at the same time I believe there’s always a meaning behind everything that happens.”
The tendon snapped mid-semifinal at last October’s Stockholm Open, while he was up a break on Ugo Humbert; surgery followed the next day.
The comeback has moved in stages, Rune told the Swedish newspaper. “The first four, five, maybe six months, I was taking big steps the whole time – from being on crutches, to walking, to running,” he said.
He’s now playing practice sets, building from two sets a day toward longer blocks he plans to test soon in Spain. Rune was seen in Murcia with Carlos Alcaraz these latest days, as the two men prepare their return on the Tour.
The comeback has moved through clear stages. “The first four, five, maybe six months, I was taking big steps the whole time – from being on crutches, to walking, to running,” Rune said. He has since progressed to practice sets – two a day, most recently – and is now building toward longer training blocks, the next checkpoint before a full return.
I’m counting down the days. I can finally see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
A return date isn’t set. Rune wants to prove he can survive a full tournament week – as many as five matches in seven days – before giving himself the green light. “That’s a hard question. It’s about when I feel ready,” he said, days after talking about the Davis Cup in September as an option. “We’re going to test that soon, and we’ll see how I react to it.” He puts himself “within the next few weeks” of full fitness.
The emotion of getting close is not lost on him. “I’m counting down the days. I can finally see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. All the work I’ve put in is paying off now, so this is an exciting moment,” he said. “I’ve built my whole life around tennis, so when someone or something takes that away from you, it’s tough. But there’s only one solution, and that’s to build yourself back up.”
Once back, the former world No. 4 says results are secondary to a broader reset. “I want to come back feeling like I’ve developed, both physically and as a tennis player… that’s how you become a better player, and then I’m confident my results will follow.”
