Holger Rune is set to make his return to competitive tennis in May.
Rune suffered a devastating achilles injury in October last year while playing in the Stockholm Open semi-finals.
The Dane, a possible challenger to the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, underwent surgery shortly afterwards, and has been rehabilitating the injured area ever since.
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Last week, Rune announced that he would be making his ATP return at the Hamburg Open, which will run from May 17 to 23.
Rune’s announcement has prompted a strong reaction from former world number 21 Steve Johnson, who has expressed serious concern regarding the 22-year-old’s return date.
Steve Johnson says Holger Rune’s return date ‘seems like a bad idea’
“This is awful,” Johnson, pictured below, said on the Nothing Major Show.
“I am not a doctor, I want this abundantly clear, but seven months from a torn Achilles, I don’t care if it was partially torn. Nobody has ever done it.
“We are seven months, nobody has ever done this.
“We are in a sport where you better use your legs and be full go and believe 100 per cent that you are going to be fine.
“This seems like a bad idea from whoever is giving him this thought to go and play Hamburg.
“I hope this is not true. He is still so young that even if he takes the rest of the year off to get 100 per cent healthy, it’s not like he’s 34 and this is his last season.
“I hope he is fine. It would be great if he’s healthy and he comes back and I was wrong.
“But I do not want to see him come back and do it again or hurt something else because he is compensating in another area, because then it just restarts your clock.
“It does seem quick.”
Sam Querrey, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, added: “I’ll believe it when I see it. He says he is playing Hamburg, but I’m not pretending he is playing it yet.
“If he plays it and he looks good, holy smokes. Someone pass his rehab routine around to others because that is the fastest comeback of all time.”
Holger Rune’s message
Rune confirmed his return in a message published on the Hamburg Open website.
“The hard work starts in Hamburg,” he said.
“I can’t wait to be back on clay at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open and to finally experience the atmosphere on site again after such a long break.”
Last 10 Hamburg Open champions
- 2016: Martin Klizan
- 2017: Leonardo Mayer
- 2018: Nikoloz Basilashvili
- 2019: Nikoloz Basilashvili
- 2020: Andrey Rublev
- 2021: Pablo Carreno Busta
- 2022: Lorenzo Musetti
- 2023: Alexander Zverev
- 2024: Arthur Fils
- 2025: Flavio Cobolli
Rune, who has fallen to world number 27 since his injury, will compete alongside a number of high-profile athletes in Hamburg.
Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime will likely be the top seeds. Flavio Cobolli, the defending champion, is also set to return.
The winner of the 2026 event will receive 500 ATP ranking points and earn €415,140 in prize money.
