Where does Holger Rune start his 2024 season?
Holger Rune will not feature at the United Cup with Denmark not in the tournament draw, but he had two options for a start to his season in the first week of 2024.
Those two events are new additions or returns to the ATP Tour with the Brisbane International, and new Hong Kong stop kicking off the season for players not involved with the United Cup.
Rune has committed himself to being the headline act for the Brisbane International at the Queensland Tennis Centre from 31 December to 7 January.
Last season Brisbane had been one of the host cities for the United Cup, but fan feedback suggested many would have preferred a proper tour stop.
The men’s singles draw features 32 players, with world No 8 Rune shaping up to be the top seed.
“We are delighted to welcome the Brisbane International back, bigger and better than ever in 2024,” Brisbane International Tournament Director Cam Pearson said.
“We know how much the players love playing the Brisbane International and starting the season in Queensland.
“Fans can look forward to eight days of high-quality international tennis, an expanded women’s draw, and 180 of the world’s best players competing for a big prize pool. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Rafael Nadal was a recent big-name addition to the tournament, which will also welcome Grigor Dimitrov.
Rune started his 2023 season in Adelaide at the first of two ATP 250 held at Memorial Drive.
The Dane lost his first match of the 2023 season, going down to Yoshihito Nishioka in three sets to exit Adelaide International 1 immediately.
Rune did not play another event before the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne, where he reached the last 16.
The top ten star is not entered into either of the events that immediately precede the Australian Open, meaning that the Brisbane International will be his only competitive play of the season before the opening Slam.
In week two of the 2024 season, the ATP stages the Adelaide International and the Auckland Classic, both 250-level events getting underway on 8 January.
Davis Cup competition follows the Australian Open at the end of January, while February can often be a lowkey month for players in the top 10 or 20 in the world ahead of the massive Sunshine Double in March, with Indian Wells being the first Masters event of the 2024 schedule.
Last season, Rune played three events between his Davis Cup duty and the Sunshine Double in March. He reached the semi-finals in Montpellier but drew flak for retiring from his Round of 16 match in Rotterdam while just two games away from an exit.
Rune would then make his way back to North America, turning out in the ATP 500 Abierto Mexicano in Acapulco, where he was a semi-finalist.
He went 3-2 across the Sunshine double in a disappointing effort but would later claim to have been hampered by injury.
Rune will start the season under the direction of his new coach, Boris Becker, having extended his deal with the German trainer.
ALSO READ: Where will Naomi Osaka start her comeback season in 2024
