Holger Rune is currently recovering from the nightmarish injury he suffered at the Stockholm Open in October.
Rune suffered the injury during his semi-final clash in Sweden, forced to retire at 2-2 in the second set against Ugo Humbert.
The Dane was in visible distress, and he was helped off the court by an ATP physio.
Since suffering the Achilles injury, Rune has been working hard in recovery, providing tennis fans with regular updates showcasing his progress.
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The Dane has provided fans with further updates in his latest interview, in which he also commented on the rise in Achilles injuries across all sports.
Holger Rune says the two-week Masters events are ‘completely unnecessary’
During an interview with Sports Illustrated, Rune said: “I think every player now on the tour is extremely fit. Which makes some players very explosive.
“I would put myself in there as a very explosive player. And then fatigue is another thing. Scheduling is another thing; the demand of the tour, which just has turned into basically every week from January to end of November, which makes it tougher to recover. … I had a chance to make the ATP Finals in Turin.
“And of course, I’m not gonna stop—that’s why I don’t regret playing in Stockholm. And I was playing really well. But it’s tough. It’s too many tournaments. The demands of the sport and scheduling is too much for players. And I think not just me. Mine is a big injury, but we’ve seen other players getting injured, not being able to play full calendar.
“And I think especially the two weeks Masters is completely unnecessary. And I think every player is agreeing on that. I’ve spoken to all the top players, and I feel like they agree on that. But again, I think it’s really good. I mean, we need to be really fit also. And the game is really fit.
“You know, before maybe it was only the top 50 who were super fit. Right now it’s 250 players that are super fit. So I think it makes a game more physical, for sure.”
The two-week Masters events [spanning 12 days of play] were first introduced in 2023. The format has since been expanded to a greater number of events and now only Monte-Carlo and Paris have the single-week, 56-player format.
Various players have criticised the format. During the 2025 Barcelona Open, Carlos Alcaraz said the one-week events are better, and Stefanos Tsitsipas called the format a ‘backwards move’ in 2024.
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In August, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said the expanded format ‘unlocks the revenue potential needed to elevate the entire Tour.’
Returning to Rune’s interview, Jon Wertheim – the interviewer – responded: “You think the schedule and the calendar still bears some blame here.”
Rune replied: “I don’t want to blame anything. But I also don’t believe in bad luck. I believe things happen for a reason. And you know, the main reason of these injuries is fatigue. … We’re still humans, we’re not machines or robots or anything. All of us understand we have to be so fit.
“We can play five-hour matches, and that’s not every athlete that can do that in sports. So I think we do what we can to be ready now. I think the [ATP] should also have to adapt a little bit to the players. Right?”
All tennis fans will be hoping the former world number four recovers in good time. Few would bet against him doing so, considering the immense amount of effort he is putting in to get back on the court.
Rune provides an injury update
On Thursday morning, Rune posted a message on Instagram providing tennis fans with an injury update.
He said: “It is now 2 months since my Achilles surgery and I am leaving Qatar today, after almost one month of rehab at Aspetar hospital.
“I am deeply grateful for the guidance and the progress I have made the past month. Without the knowledge from the dedicated team here, I don’t think this strong progression would have been possible.
“Thank you to everyone involved, also the ones behind the scenes. And to family, team, and fans let’s keep loading into phase three.”
