Holger Rune wants to ‘put on a show on court’ and hopes to be part of new Big Three

Tennis News

Shahida Jacobs
March 30, 2023

Holger Rune feels tennis needs to have “a variety of characters” in order to make the sport entertaining and he wants to be one of those characters who entertain fans.

The Dane has already made a name for himself in the sport not only because of his tennis but also because some of his on-court antics.

He accused Casper Ruud of getting in his face during the French Open in June last year, implied that Cameron Norrie used gamesmanship at the US Open in September while Stan Wawrinka told him to “stop acting like a baby on court” at the Paris Masters in October.

The 19-year-old has certainly added some character to the sport since making his breakthrough.

“I’m not arrogant, I’m just passionate about what I do. I want to win, but I also want to put on a show on the court,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I think it’s very good that there’s a variety of characters on the circuit, otherwise it would all be very boring.”

As for his own achievements, Rune’s maiden ATP Tour title came at the Bavarian Championship in April before he reached three consecutive finals in October, winning the Swiss Indoors before while he finished runner-up at the Sofia Open and Stockholm Open.

But his biggest achievement to date came at the Paris Masters as he beat Wawrinka, Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the final. He then stunned tennis great Novak Djokovic to lift his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title.

He added: “I work very hard, but I also think it’s very important to really want to improve, to see that the work is paying off and to enjoy it.

“I love tennis so much that I want to be perfect, even though I know I can’t be, but I think that’s the exciting part, the feeling that you can always improve. There are no limits, and that excites me.”

Rune is the same age as world No 1 Alcaraz and many believe the duo could dominate the sport once Djokovic and Rafael Nadal follows fellow Big Three member Roger Federer into retirement.

When asked about the future of the sport, he replied: “It’s a difficult question, but I know it!

“One of the trio I hope to be me, then Alcaraz, who has already shown that he knows how to win Grand Slams, and finally [Jannik] Sinner. He has an incredible attitude. He looks like he’s been on the tour for a lifetime but he’s just 21, and every time he plays he shows improvement.”

Carlos Alcaraz Holger Rune Jannik Sinner