Holger Rune is going through a troublesome time on the tour. He has not been able to produce positive results like he did four months ago. Rune has decided that there have to be changes made in his team to perform better. It is only his third year on the tour, and the Danish player decided that he needs to have more stability to play well. Rune dropped coach Patrick Mouratoglou after this year’s US Open.
Mouratoglou had earlier coached Serena Williams and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He also worked with Simona Halep until her doping suspension. Rune had been training under Mouratoglou’s tennis academy for the past nine months. The 20-year-old said, “I’ve had ups and downs, and then the coaching situation and everything, but I’ve had more stability so far, and it’s good.” Rune is now back with his former coach, Lars Christensen.
They’re back together again #CincyTennis 🙌@holgerrune2003 🤝🏼 @pmouratoglou pic.twitter.com/NHEKProLmy
— Holger Rune News (@running_rune) August 16, 2023
CONFIRMED 🚨
After much speculation and uncertanity in Holger Rune’s camp his long-time trainer Lars Christensen will rejoin the as the sole coach of Rune. They have began working in Denmark and he will start travelling with Holger from Beijing. pic.twitter.com/FBwLFTRpQM
— Holger Rune News (@running_rune) September 12, 2023
Mouratoglou also revealed that their initial plan was to stay together for three months, but it went up to six months. It was under the Frenchmen that Rune entered the top ten and also won the Paris Masters 1000. But the recent losing streak made him go back to Christensen, who had coached him since he was seven years old.
Holger Rune looking to avoid disastrous season-end losing streak
In the first seven months of the tour, the Danish player collected 37 victories on the tour. In the past two months, he has lost six matches and won a single match at the China Open. He has lost in the opening round at the ongoing Shanghai Masters 1000. Rune was bageled in the opening set by Brandon Nakashima at Shanghai and could only win two games in the second set.
The world No.5 had reached the finals at Monte Carlo and at Rome. Rune lost both finals to Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev. He won the title at Munich and went on to reach the quarterfinals at the French Open and Wimbledon. The four-time tour title winner stands in an eighth position to qualify for the Nitto ATP finals, but his recent form can put him out of contention for the event.
Rune KNOCKED OUT by Nakashima 😵
The World No.5 has been shocked 6-0 6-2 by No.122 in Shanghai entry
It’s the toughest defeat of a Top 5 against a player outside the Top 100 since the ATP Tour creation in 1990 💥 pic.twitter.com/UkmcflNc7P
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) October 6, 2023
Ever since the back injury in September, Rune has not been able to bring back his majestic form. Marion Bartoli had warned him to change his explosive game on the court to survive on the tour for long. Players his age tend to become aggressive on the court and slowly learn to adapt to the tough conditions in the game. Rune will now have to make a strategy with his childhood coach to get back into the tour.
