Holger Rune started his career with a fantastic 7-1 win-loss record against Top 5 players. Now the record is 7-11; he has lost ten matches in a row against Top 5 players. What happened? Did he decline? Did opponents figure him out? Has the field massively improved? Rune reached World No.4 when he was 20, but whatever made him reach those heights is now missing.
His lack of gameplan in his last match against Novak Djokovic was shocking. He is still a Top 15 player but didn’t play like one. His serve and forehand regressed, also his on-court demeanor against top players is not what it was. He used to be so pumped up to face top players and brought his best tennis against them. The precision in his shots isn’t there anymore and his only way of winning is by out-grinding the lesser opponent, which explains his regression against top players.
He has immense talent and has all the shots in the book but, I think he doesn’t know how to put the entire thing together. He has the tools in the box but certainly doesn’t know how to use them. His signature ability is probably his quickness, but he doesn’t even use it to his strength since he’s constantly out of position and lacks awareness.
Why Holger Rune Has Struggled to Become Elite
Not Having Consistency In His Coaching Setup Is Hurting Him
It seems like Rune doesn’t quite know what he wants his style of play to be yet. Sometimes he can play great defense and rally and then other times he goes hyper-aggressive and goes for very low-percentage shots to end the points quickly, repeatedly. Same thing with his shot selection at times like knowing when to use the drop shot and when to come to the net. Some of that is natural tennis IQ that can’t exactly be taught but still be improved upon with experience and having the right voice behind you.
Rune needs to figure out his game and take his game to opponents rather than just being reactive and trying to push too hard. The weaknesses in his game are obvious and fixable; so why not fix them? Any coach genuinely wanting the best for him would be having him work on his serve, his positioning, power on his forehand, return of serve etc.
Rune has continuously changed his coaches during the last year, he is 21 and in the spotlight with no established coaching setup. No wonder he feels a bit destabilized and looks like he has hit a wall. His impatience and lack of focus are worrying. He needs a consistent and stable coaching setup, which he hasn’t had for more than a year.
The Physical Issues
Rune has shown at times when he starts losing, it looks like he’s borderline tanking and has already resigned himself to losing. But some of that has to do with his physicality. He seems to get noticeably gassed in long matches more than I see from a lot of other top players which might also contribute to him suddenly starting to blast everything when he is losing because he doesn’t have the energy to play long rallies.
Performing in Slams has been a huge hurdle for Rune. He hasn’t made a quarterfinal in his last four Slams. After a couple of intense five-set matches, he fizzles because of poor endurance. He certainly looks super fit but maybe that tennis stamina will have to be built up and come along with age.
The Pressure Of Alcaraz And Sinner
The Danish player recently said that he hopes Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and he are called the next “Big 3.” Sometimes you have to be at least a little delusional to have a shot at being elite. You also have to develop the game to be able to later back it up. However, it’s much better to keep it to yourself. Because if you put it out there publicly, you will be examined under a microscope and put unnecessary pressure on yourself.
Rune has a long way to go to consider himself at the same level as Alcaraz and Sinner and honestly, this shouldn’t even be his goal at the moment. Every player has their journey and he should focus on improving his game. Sinner had a subpar serve, movement and touch but focused on improving them which built his confidence and his variety to get him to the place where he can rival Alcaraz.
Rune is too focused on the end game but he needs to follow the process and trust it. He’s putting too much pressure on himself to get those big results. But so far it looks like the pressure is getting to his head. It’s like he wants to snap his fingers and be a Slam champion.
That said, he is still only 21 and has the time to get things together. The last 10 months have been weird for him, but writing him off so soon might be a premature thing to do. His issues are fixable if he’s willing to work on them, and I think he has a lot of motivation to do so.
Main Photo Credit: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK
