Former world No. 4 Holger Rune, who has not played since injuring his left Achilles in October, told AFP that he is still not ready to return to the courts. The 23-year-old Dane insisted, however, that he retains great confidence in his ability to bounce back and defeat the world's top two, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Rune's Injury and Recovery
“Before, maybe you have a few problems here and there and you make them a bigger deal than they maybe are,” said Rune. “And now you understand, okay, this is a real tough moment and this is hard to come back from. But I always have big faith in myself that I'm able to come back from anything.”
A Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2023, Rune pulled out of the coming championships a few days ago and has now dropped to world No. 63. There is no sign of an immediate return, but he hints that it may not be far off.
Progress and Readiness
“Things are looking good now so it's really when I feel ready, I'll be back,” he said. “I'm not going to put a date on it. It's when I'm ready. Things are evolving well. We are playing points now and everything. And my knee and Achilles are both holding up well. So it's a process. We're not there yet, but we're close.”
Reflections on Heavy Playing Load
Rune regrets the heavy playing load he took on last year, calling it “too tough.” He went straight from the US Open to training in Monaco, then to the Davis Cup on clay, followed by the Laver Cup on hard court in San Francisco, then Japan, China, and finally Stockholm, where he got injured in the semi-finals. “Everything in a row was just too much for me. And I think at the end my body got the answer of that.”
No Pressure and Future Plans
“Obviously now, coming back from an injury, I feel no pressure really. I just want to go out there and enjoy myself, enjoy being back and try to be the biggest beast I can and deliver. I want to come back better than before.” The plan when he does return will be to focus on the Grand Slams and Masters 1000 events. “That's the level I want to be playing at,” he explained.
