Holger Rune

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The Fire Within Holger Rune

Spoiler:

Holger's mother, Aneke, provides exclusive insight
Editor's Note: This story was originally published on 15 January 2022.

Holger Rune has big dreams in tennis. The #NextGenATP Danish star has no problem saying he believes he can compete with everyone on the ATP Tour and that one day, he wants to be World No. 1.

According to Holger’s mother, Aneke Rune, he is not just saying that for the sake of it.

“As Holger says, a lot of guys say I want to be No. 1, but you can see they don’t mean it. He says you can see it in their eyes. For Holger it’s important as well [that] his coach and people involved really want it,” Aneke said. “He feels it immediately if it’s just fake. If some coaches tried to be interested when he was younger, he was like, ‘But he doesn’t mean it’.

“He’s very serious, and still now when he says he wants to improve and wants to do these things, this is what he really means. It’s not like [he is just saying] ‘I want to be a rockstar’. He wants it.”

And Rune has wanted it since he was a young boy. Before he began playing tennis, Holger would go along with his sister, Alma, to her tournaments. He would pull a chair up to the fence to take a close look at the action.

“All the other little sisters and brothers would be saying, ‘Can we go home soon?’” Aneke recalled. “I could pay all my attention to Alma and when one match was finished he took his chair and moved it over to find another match to watch.

“He was hooked before he started himself. He wanted to start, but he wasn’t allowed to until he was six. So when he did start, he was very motivated.”

Rune’s competitive spirit did not take long to come to the forefront. Early on, Holger played foam ball tournaments, in which he would place second.

“He was so angry he didn’t want to get the trophy. He was crying in a match because he saw he couldn’t win. I said, 'You can’t cry!’” Aneke recalled. “He wanted so much to win and we had to tell him okay skip that, because you’re not going to win if your eyes are all wet, you can’t see the ball.”

Aneke Rune
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
But Rune is more than just a competitor. In a way, he is obsessed with the sport. When ATPTour.com asked the Dane last year to describe a perfect day without tennis, he asked if he could watch tennis.

“Sometimes he’s forced to mention some other sports and he says basketball, baseball, football, whatever,” Aneke said. “But honestly, it’s not a real passion.”

Rune is all tennis, all the time. Ask him about a specific shot in a specific match from one of your favourite players, and he likely can give you the context. According to his mother, it’s a fitting sport for his personality.

When Holger was younger, he was into skateboarding and would spend plenty of time on YouTube learning tricks, only to go out and practise them. He was into the details. Tennis has an abundance of those.

“He can spend hours. It’s not just a movie for him. It’s the footwork, he can tell you the backhand down the line [Stan] Wawrinka hit in that match in that year. You can ask him anything and he can answer, he’s just so much into details,” Aneke said. “That’s why I’m happy [he is in] tennis. In tennis there are so many details. It’s not like skateboarding, where he put everything on a skateboard and was like, 'Okay, next project'. In tennis you never get good enough.”

Aneke and Rune’s coach, Lars Christensen, readily admit that Holger is an emotional teen. With the 18-year-old’s desire to improve and be the best comes inevitable moments of disappointment. Nobody’s run to the top is flawless, and Rune hates losing.

“We were actually not sure if we were going to the U.S. [before last US Open]. In many matches, he acted a little too childish and I told Holger it’s a long way to go, it’s expensive,” Aneke said. “If we go, you’ll have to improve in these areas.”

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/holg ... ew'>Holger Rune</a>
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
The team made a deal that Rune would play an ATP Challenger Tour event in San Marino to try to get back on track mentally, which he did by lifting the trophy. He also triumphed in Verona, convincing his team he was ready for New York. In his first attempt to qualify for a major, Rune was successful with the loss of just one set.

In the first round of the main draw, Rune took a set from World No. 1 Novak Djokovic inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. In the moment, Aneke did not realise the magnitude of his efforts. It took until she watched highlights on television.

“I was like s***, this is huge. But at the time, it was just progress, it was just a match,” Aneke said. “Afterwards when you are watching, you get goosebumps, it’s like ‘Whoa’. It was amazing. Fifteen thousand people cheering for my son, I was like, ‘I’m going to cry’.”

The year got even better for Rune when he qualified for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. After starting 2021 at No. 473 in the ATP Rankings, he finished No. 103. Now at a career-high World No. 102, Rune is set to make his Australian Open debut against South Korean Soonwoo Kwon.

It is still early in Rune’s journey, and all indications point towards the teen continuing his climb. But for Aneke, as supportive as she is of her son’s ambitions, there is something even more important.

“If you ask any parent, the most important thing is that your children are happy. For me also when he practises, when he is playing matches, I need to see that he is enjoying what he’s doing. I need to see his eyes, I need to see his passion, I need to see his happiness,” Aneke said. “If I can see he’s happy, I feel like I’m a success as a mother. For me, the most important thing is happiness.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/rune-ja ... 22-feature

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Rune Shocks Tsitsipas To Continue Dream Run In Paris

Spoiler:

19-year-old first Dane to reach the quarter-finals at a major in the Open Era
#NextGenATP star Holger Rune earned just his second Top 5 win Monday at Roland Garros, where he upset World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to become the first Danish man to reach the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam in the Open Era.

Competing in the fourth round at a major for the first time, the 19-year-old rose to the challenge on Court Philippe Chatrier, showcasing great variety by combining brutal ball striking with deft drop shots to shock the Greek in three hours.

“I have an unbelievable feeling right now,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “I was so nervous at the end but the crowd was amazing for me the whole match, the whole tournament. I am so grateful and so happy to be playing on this court. You guys are amazing.

"I was very nervous but I know at the same time that if I go away from my tactics against a player like Tsitsipas I am going to lose for sure. I told myself just to keep at it and play my plan in the tough moments. It worked out so well in the end and gave me a huge confidence boost. It is just so great to still be here.”

Rune is making his debut in Paris and has produced a string of faultless performances so far. Prior to his standout win over 2021 finalist Tsitsipas, the Dane had eliminated Denis Shapovalov, Henri Laaksonen and Hugo Gaston in straight sets.

You May Also Like: The Fire Within Holger Rune
In front of a lively crowd, Tsitsipas came out swinging and took the match to Rune by gaining an early break. However, after his nerves settled, the Dane grew into the match. The 19-year-old began to fire his flat groundstrokes through the court, turning the set around with his power to move ahead.

Tsitsipas maintained his composure, though, and stuck to his game plan. The 23-year-old demonstrated great footwork to dictate on his forehand and pull Rune around the baseline. The Greek hit eight winners in the set and tightened up his groundstrokes to level as he searched for a Tour-leading 35th win of the season.

However, Rune stuck to the task, returning with depth and aggression to blast through the third set and move back ahead. The 19-year-old then gained an early break in the fourth set, before he served out the match at the second time of asking. He saved three break points in the game and then sealed victory on his first match point, raising his arms in the air in delight.

“I tried to play an aggressive performance,” Rune said. “When Stefanos gets a shorter ball, he attacks a lot, so I had to play aggressively and really fast, taking time away from him. I really like playing drop shots, it is fun to play and it worked out really well.”



By joining the 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, it is the first time two teenagers have reached this stage at a major since 1994, when Hendrik Dreekmann and Andrei Medvedev advanced to the quarter-finals in the French capital.

“I get so emotional when I talk about family and coaches, but we are still in the quarter-finals, so we haven’t won the tournament yet,” Rune said. “My mum, my whole crew up there is why I am here today. I am so grateful to have such a team helping me in tough situations.”

Rune will look to continue his dream run when he plays Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals. The Norwegian defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to book his spot in the last eight at a Grand Slam for the first time.


Just 12 months ago, the Dane was ranked outside the Top 300 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Now he is up to No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following a standout year.

The 19-year-old shocked World No. 3 Alexander Zverev en route to his maiden ATP Tour title in Munich last month, before he reached the semi-finals in Lyon. He is 21-7 across all levels on clay this season.

Rune qualified for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals last November and is in a good position to return to Milan this year following his exploits in Paris, currently sat third in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan.

Tsitsipas was making his sixth appearance in Paris, having lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets in the final last year. The Greek, who triumphed in Monte Carlo in April, edged #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti and Czech qualifier Zdenek Kolar in his opening two matches, but could not survive for a third time in his first meeting with Rune.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/tsitsip ... 022-monday

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