Holger Rune says that, before suffering his serious injury in the autumn of last year, his team had a “brutal and direct” talk with him that helped him realize his sometimes uncommitted attitude.
“When I was playing in Tokyo the week before Shanghai, I had a very important conversation with my entire team. It was a pretty tough and direct talk, where everyone was very honest with me. At that moment it was difficult to listen to, but I am very grateful because something has changed since then”says Rune in an interview with American tennis legend Andy Roddick on the “Served” podcast.
In the podcast, Rune explains that his teammates opened his eyes by telling him that he had to improve in games where things don’t go well and he feels uncomfortable or has a hard time competing.
“We talked about how, if I want to reach my potential, I have to do these things. If I don’t want to do it, that’s fine, but then we have to start communicating in a different way. At that moment I understood the importance of these types of games and the effort I always have to give.”
During the talk, Rune highlights an example from the Tokyo tournament, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by unseeded American Jenson Brooksby, currently number 48 in the world.
Rune acknowledges that he could have done better on that occasion. “Brooksby is a difficult opponent, but I didn’t put in the necessary effort either. I don’t want to take away from his victory, but it was an example of me not giving a 10 out of 10 effort.”he stated.
It seems that the difficult talk in Tokyo has had a positive effect on Rune’s performance.
In Shanghai, Rune reached the quarterfinals before losing to Frenchman Valentin Vacherot, who went on to win the tournament.
In Stockholm the following week, Rune reached the semi-finals and won the first set against Ugo Humbert before suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon, which has sidelined him for most of spring 2026.
