‘Punchable’ Holger Rune ‘p****s people off’, but Dane says it is ‘cool’ to have characters in tennis
Tennis commentator Rennae Stubbs hopes that Holger Rune will “calm down a little bit” and stop “being so punchable” as he grows older.
The soon-to-be 20-year-old Rune is one of the in-form players on the ATP Tour as he successfully defended his BMW Open title on Sunday while he also finished runner-up at the Monte Carlo Masters last week.
He currently sits at a career-high of No 7 in the ATP Rankings and is generally considered one of the hottest prospects in men’s tennis.
However, he has grown a reputation for his on-court antics and tantrums with three-time Stan Wawrinka infamously telling him to “stop acting like a baby on court” after one of their matches last year.
Four-time Grand Slam women’s doubles champion Stubbs, who coached tennis great Serena Williams during her final few months on the WTA Tour, also didn’t hold back when she talked about the teenager recently.
“Rune is proving himself to be so good on all surfaces,” she said on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “He’s so young. But, man! He’s disliked on tour. Is there a person that likes this kid? It’s amazing; he just p****s people off on the court and the garbage that he carries on with.
“I’m hoping that with time, by the time he’s 22 or 23, he’s kinda calmed down a little bit with that, I don’t know, being so punchable, can I say that? Punchable with his antics, and the way carries on.”
However, the Dane himself believes the sport needs more personalities as he highlighted the recent Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev blow-up as an example.
Following their clash in Monte Carlo, Zverev and Medvedev traded several public barbs although the dust around the controversy seems to have settled down.
“You cannot have 100 players in the top 100 and all of them are best friends with each other,” Rune told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
“There always will be some moments and things will happen like for example between Zverev and Medvedev. For us as players, it would certainly be easier if we would just handle it by ourselves so that it would not come out.
“But for the fans, for the public and to gain even new fans, it is cool to have some personalities and some things happen and come out,” the World No. 7 added. “It has to happen a bit more than just hitting the ball back. Fans admire the sport but also characters. If you can show it to a certain point, then it is a positive thing for the sport.”
WATCH: Holger Rune saves four match points en route to title, but his mother is the ‘real star’ of the show
