Holger Rune makes a big Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz claim as he sets 2025 targets
Holger Rune appeared to have made the breakthrough that would put him at the heart of a new era in men’s tennis when he won the 2022 Paris Masters as a teenager, but his momentum has stuttered since then.
The Danish youngster has lived through numerous highs and lows on and off the court, with plenty of high-profile coaches coming and going as he looks to find a consistent winning formula.
Now he is targeting 2025 as the year when he will return to the top of the game, with Rune insisting he does not need to make too many improvements to his game to challenge Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev at the top of the men’s game.
In the second part of his chat with Tennis365 conducted at the UTS Grand Final in London, Rune insisted he can challenge for Grand Slam titles as he looks to close the gap that has opened up between him and the players winning the big titles over the last year.
What do you need to change in your game to go to the next level?
Holger Rune: It’s not like a need to change everything in my game. It’s just small adjustments. I worked on some things in the exhibition event with Casper (Ruud) and I am working on them here at UTS as well. You look at someone (Alexander) Zverev and he is a guy who improved a lot lately. Before his injury, he was top five consistently, but he has improved again now and will be a big contender for the Grand Slams next year. That’s what I want to do as well now. My next step is not to win a particular tournament. It’s just to maximise my potential and I believe if I can do that, I can win Grand Slams.
What have Sinner and Alcaraz done to separate themselves from the chasing pack?
Holger Rune: I think Sinner has been a very complete player this year. Then when Alcaraz is playing his best tennis, he also seems complete, but at the same time, I can see that they can improve in some areas. That’s unbelievable when you think Sinner this year won almost everything. The great thing about tennis is everyone always has a chance to get better. Alcaraz has been great for tennis. He’s a great player, has a lot of skills and he is showing his skills on the court. Hopefully I will be there with them soon.
What were your thoughts on Novak Djokovic hiring Andy Murray as a coach for the Australian Open?
Holger Rune: Novak didn’t have a coach, so he was looking for something new, but I didn’t expect someone like Andy. I’m sure now he wants to win more Grand Slams and we don’t know what it will be like to have Murray in his corner. It’s an interesting set-up, for sure. I don’t think many of us would have seen it coming and it could be very good for both of them. I’m sure it is his goal to win a couple more Grand Slams. This year his goal was to win the Olympics and he managed to do that. Maybe that was his only goal and after that, I don’t know about his motivation.
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What have you been working on ahead of the new season and can playing exhibition events like the UTS Grand Final in London help that process?
Holger Rune: I think playing UTS is great practice. There are a lot of things happening in UTS that we don’t have on the ATP Tour. You can learn a lot. I remember the first time I played in this concept it was very difficult, but I enjoyed it in the end and it can help you when you play normal tennis. Also, there is a lot of cardio with the way the rules work in UTS and that is good. We have done a lot of work with weights over the last few weeks, now it’s time to work on the footwork. UTS is perfect for that as you are forced to play rallies with the serving rules, so you are forced to play rallies.
The coaches are very prominent in UTS. What are your thoughts on in-game coaching in tennis?
Holger Rune: It’s fine, but I also like that the player out there is doing his thing and making a decision on his way. At the end of the day, everyone was coaching from the sidelines anyway, so it’s good that it is legal now.
