Dane, Paris, Becker: Everything you always wanted to know about Holger Rune (but never had time to find out) – updated with Mouratoglou reunion

Who is Holger Rune?

Holger Rune is a Danish professional tennis player, part of the young generation on the ATP Tour aiming to become No 1 in the world, along with other players of his generation such as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. He broke into the Top 10 since his win at the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters, where he became the first man to beat five top 10 players in the same tournament. After saving three match points in beating Stan Wawrinka in the first round, he beat top 10 players Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime and then in the final, Novak Djokovic, to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title.

Rune’s most recent Grand Slam appearance came at the 2024 Australian Open, where he was upset in the second round by Arthur Cazaux, losing to the Frenchman 7-6 (4), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Holger Rune flourished in the junior ranks before making an impressive jump to the pros. In the juniors, he reached No 1 in the world. In 2021, he played more than 100 matches at all pro levels, taking a set off Novak Djokovic at the US Open. Then at Roland-Garros 2022, he made his first quarter-final at a Major by upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas.

What is Holger Rune’s style of play?

Rune possesses an all-court game. He can hit hard from the baseline but also change the pace and follow his big serve and play at the net. Besides his game, he is known for his fist pumps on the court.

Speaking about Rune in Monte-Carlo, Andrey Rublev described Rune’s style of play. “Holger is the guy who runs a lot, and he runs really well. He read the game really well. He’s very talented. He have a good touch. He doesn’t give you any rhythm, because as soon as he have chance he try to do dropshots, he try to hit full power, go to the net, return and go to the net, then serve to the net. So with him, you need really to pass these three, four shots to be able to give your rhythm and to dictate your style of the game.”

Who is Holger Rune’s coach?

In February 2024, Holger Rune and Patrick Mouratoglou announced that they would be working together for the foreseeable future.

Rune has been training at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy in Biot since 2016. Between October 2022 and March 2023, Rune was also accompanied on tour by Mouratoglou, the long-time coach of Serena Williams. Mouratoglou initially joined the team until the end of 2022 but stayed on for an additional three months, before confirming on April 3 that he would be stepping back, as planned. He then rejoined the team for the clay season, but stepped back again in September 2023.

Rune and Boris Becker teamed up in late 2023, and were expected to be working together full-time in 2024. The German announced it on a Eurosport podcast, describing Rune as “a rough diamond”. However, in February 2024, Becker wrote on social media that their arrangement was over with immediate effect.

Rune also announced the appointment of Roger Federer‘s former coach, Severin Luthi, in December 2023. However, the collaboration lasted less than two months and they parted ways in late January 2024 after a second-round exit at the 2024 Australian Open.

He has long been coached by Lars Christensen, according to the official ATP website. Throughout his childhood, he was coached by Christensen, who, along with his mother, Aneke Rune, is considered his greatest source of inspiration. However, during the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters 1000, Christensen was not seen in Rune’s box all through the tournament where the Dane reached the final and lost to Andrey Rublev in three sets.

Aneke Rune clarified her son’s coaching status in May 2023, saying that Christensen had coached him since he was little, and that they had been associated with the Mouratoglou Academy since Holger was 13. “It’s not about a change of coach but about using the resources you have for various reasons,” she told TV2.

Has Holger Rune ever played in UTS?

Holger “The Viking” Rune reached the final of the 2023 UTS Grand Final in London, where he lost to Jack “The Power” Draper.

Rune also played in UTS Oslo in February 2024.

The 20-year-old Dane made his debut in 2020, when he was just 17 years old, as a replacement for Matteo Berrettini.

Where and when did Holger Rune win his first ATP Tour title?

Holger Rune won the first title of his career on the ATP Tour in Munich in 2022. In the final, the Dane took advantage of the retirement of Botic van de Zandschulp, who had a chest injury (4-3). In the second round, he easily beat the top seed and world No 3 Alexander Zverev (6-3, 6-2). Jiri Lehecka, Emil Ruusuvuori and Oscar Otte were his other opponents during the week. 

Coming out of his semi-final, the 19-year-old had already shown his big ambitions: “I won’t be satisfied until I’m world No 1.”

How many ATP titles has Holger Rune won?

Four. He followed up his win in Munich by taking the title in Stockholm in October, 2022, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. He then won his first ATP Masters 1000 title by beating Novak Djokovic in the Paris final in November. He won his fourth and most recent title in Munich in April, 2023, beating Botic van de Zandschulp in the final.

Lifting 30 kilos of pure joy 🏆 @sthlm_open what a week 🇸🇪 thank you to my next level positive energy team 😜🫶🏽 @pmouratoglou @mikejamestennis coach Lars, my mother and lots of love to my sister and father at home 🥰 pic.twitter.com/DZisTNUI9y

— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) October 23, 2022

When was Holger Rune born?

Holger Rune was born on April 29, 2003 in Copenhagen. 

Who are Holger Rune’s parents?

His parents are Aneke Rune, his mother who accompanies him at tournaments, and father Anders Nodskov. Rune also has a sister, Alma. He started playing tennis at the age of six because his sister was playing and started taking the sport seriously.

Who are Holger Rune’s idols?

Since becoming interested in and playing tennis, the Dane has been a huge fan of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, especially the latter.

What is Holger Rune’s best ranking?

Thanks to his victory at the Paris Masters, the Dane ensured he would break into the world’s top 10 for the first time in his career, as No 10. He hit a new career-high ranking of No 4 in August 2023. You can find his current ranking and rankings history on his ATP Tour profile page.

How much prize money has Rune won in his career?

As of March 22, 2024, Rune has earned more than $8.31 million in career prize money. You can find his latest prize money stats on his official ATP Tour profile page.

What is Holger Rune’s best Grand Slam result?

Holger Rune lost in the first round at the US Open to Novak Djokovic in 2021, after winning the first set. He did no better at the Australian Open, at the start of 2022, when he was eliminated by the Korean Soon woo Kwon in five sets.

But then came his big breakthrough in Paris, where he beat Denis Shapovalov in the first round, then took out world No 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round before going down to Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals. He lost in the first round at Wimbledon and the third round of the 2022 US Open. Rune began 2023 by reaching the last 16 at the Australian Open.

He replicated his success at Roland-Garros in 2023, again reaching the quarter-finals and again losing in four sets to Ruud.

Rune reached his third Grand Slam quarter-final, and first on grass courts, by reaching the last eight of Wimbledon 2023. He played his junior doubles partner and next gen rival Carlos Alcaraz, losing in three sets to the Spaniard, who went on to win the Wimbledon title.

Seeded fourth for the 2023 US Open, Rune was knocked out on the first day of main-draw play in New York, losing 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain.

What happened against Casper Ruud at Roland-Garros in 2022?

A rare all-Scandinavian quarter-final saw an eighth-seeded Casper Ruud beat Rune 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. But the encounter could be remembered more for what happened after Ruud officially progressed. Fans noted the frosty handshake, with Rune accusing Ruud of disrespect, something the Norwegian’s camp denied.

(🎥@eurosport) pic.twitter.com/BQwjvQb5Rp

— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) June 1, 2022

It seems like the unpleasantness continued in the locker room after the match but both sides had a different version of what happened.

More from Rune: "I did not want to give him a hug after. He got a high five and then I just had to get away. He was so unsportsmanlike during the match and talked to me over and over again."

— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) June 2, 2022

What does Rune have to say about his ‘bad boy’ tag?

Rune, whose passion on court during matches, has said he does not see himself as a ‘bad boy’.

Speaking during the 2023 Rome Masters, the Dane said, “I don’t see myself as the bad boy at all. I play with a lot of passion and energy when I’m on the court. I think many players do that. I don’t know why that should be a bad boy thing, to play with energy on the court. A bad boy thing is to break racquets and stuff like this. If I remember well, I don’t break a racquet when I play. I don’t see myself like that. There’s obviously a few things here and there. The umpire today. But again, I see the ball out, he saw it in. I saw on the Hawk-Eye after that the ball was out, so I don’t know.”

Is Holger Rune active on social networks?

Holger Rune has an Instagram account with over 776,000 followers (as of March 22, 2024) and an X Twitter account followed by over 76,300. The Dane does not have a Facebook account.