Holger Rune is on the road to recovery after suffering a brutal injury at the 2025 Stockholm Open.
Rune, a player once compared to Novak Djokovic, suffered a devastating full rupture of his left Achilles tendon while playing against Ugo Humbert in the Stockholm Open semi-finals.
By all accounts, the Danish star’s recovery is going well; Rune recently shared video footage of him hitting some tennis balls for the first time.
Before the injury, Rune was one of the few tennis stars capable of challenging Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Who do you think will retire with more Grand Slam titles?
Despite the injury, Rune may still be the man to challenge the dominant duo when he returns to competition.
However, the Danish star recently admitted that Jannik Sinner has moved a step ahead of himself at Grand Slam events.
Holger Rune says Jannik Sinner broke through to win Grand Slams because he started working more seriously
Speaking to Andy Roddick on the ‘Served‘ podcast, Rune admitted that he was no longer a fan of playing the Italian world number two.
“Jannik [Sinner], I used to quite like playing him, and I had a feeling that he didn’t like to play him, and now I don’t like to play him,” said Rune.
“He improved a lot, and he’s an interesting player, because for me, he was doing similar results to me, before he broke through at the Grand Slams, just missing the touch of becoming the best.”
The Danish star expanded upon his initial point, revealing the hard work and discipline of Sinner.
Rune continued: “I remember one summer, I was training in Monaco. He was training every day, four hours a day, so disciplined with [Simone] Vagnozzi, short angled cross down the line forehand just repeating it all the time.
“He really broke through because he just started working better, more seriously. From the outside it looked like this, it’s not like his game changed so much, he’s just better at everything he’s doing.
“He serves better, he returns better, he hits his forehand better, his backhand better. He just got better at everything.
“When I played him in Australia last year, I realised how much he always steps in when there’s a chance, never holds back.”
What would have happened if Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played at the same time as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?
Rune and Sinner last met on the Tour in the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open. Sinner won the contest 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Sinner leads his matchup with Rune by three wins to Rune’s two. Rune has not beaten Sinner since triumphing at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Holger Rune’s positivity should be praised
After suffering such a catastrophic injury, one would not have blamed Rune if he had lost his confidence and avoided the spotlight.
Instead, Rune has taken everything in his stride; responding positively to whatever life throws at him.
The Danish star has ensured his fans remain informed on his progress; posting regular injury updates on his social media accounts.
His attitude to the whole ordeal has been admirable, and one can only hope we see the talented Danish star back on the ATP Tour very soon.
