Why Patrick Mouratoglou believes Holger Rune’s devastating injury could be the ‘best thing’ for the Dane
Patrick Mouratoglou has stated that Holger Rune’s Achilles tear may be the ‘best thing that ever happened’ to the Dane, despite possibly being out of the tennis scene for 12 months.
The Dane suffered the tragic injury during his semi-final match against Ugo Humbert at the ATP 250 event in Stockholm, a contest in which he was leading 6-4, 2-2.
Rune had already gone through various physical issues in 2025, withdrawing from Rotterdam and Acapulco due to illness and food poisoning, respectively.
Just a month later, the former world No 4 retired during his first match at the Monte-Carlo Masters – after still recovering from the effects of tonsillitis – repeating the action in Madrid, this time due to knee discomfort.
However, Rune’s form had begun to gather speed after reaching the last eight at the Shanghai Masters (losing to eventual champion Valentin Vacherot) and, as mentioned, the semi-finals in Stockholm.
The improving results will, undoubtedly, increase the Dane’s frustration towards this latest setback, but Mouratoglou believes there may still be positives to be extracted.
“What happened to Holger is terrible,” Mouratoglou explained during a social media post.
“But maybe in two years, he’ll look back and say: ‘That was the best thing that ever happened to me.’
“When something breaks, it’s not just your body that stops. It’s your whole world.
“You watch others move forward while you’re stuck in bed or on a chair.
“Your life suddenly feels empty, because everything you’ve worked for, competing, winning, improving, is gone in a second.
“I’ve always said: it’s in the toughest moments that the most important transformations happen.
“Holger is young, incredibly driven, and obsessed with tennis, in a good way.
“This time off will force him to slow down, to look at things differently, to work on parts of his game and mindset that often get neglected when you’re always on tour.”
Mouratoglou is the former coach of Serena Williams and Simona Halep, also aiding Rune from October 2022 until September 2023.
It was during that period that the Dane rose to a new career-high ranking and collected the Paris Masters title after just a few weeks of working together.
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Shortly after sustaining the injury, Rune took to social media to make clear that he will not take to a tennis court for ‘a while’ as he begins his long road to recovery.
“It’s gonna be a while before I can step on court again,” the Dane wrote on Instagram.
“It’s tough. I had so much joy on court in Stockholm and it’s unbearable to think that I will not feel this energy for some time now.
“My Achilles is full broken on the proximal part meaning I need operation already next week and from here rehabilitation.”
Just a few days later, Rune then posted another update stating that his Achilles surgery had gone well: “Hi everyone. Surgery went really well today. Thank you for all your incredible messages and support I will keep you updated on my recovery. But now rest and heal.”
