"Boris Becker is looking for a job again"; "Clock that jailbird again": Fans hilariously react to Holger Rune & his ex-coach's spat ahead of Wimbledon
Holger Rune took it upon himself to shut down speculations of a rift between him and his coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. The Dane's clarification came after his former coach, Boris Becker, cast doubts over their partnership.
Holger Rune has been making changes in his coaching team left and right over the past couple of years. The 21-year-old worked with French coach Patrick Mouratoglou between October 2022 and April 2023. After their separation, Rune joined forces with former ATP World No. 1 and German tennis legend Boris Becker in October 2023, with former Roger Federer coach Severin Luthi added to the team in early 2024.
This arrangement was also shortlived, as Rune parted with both coaches soon after an early exit at the 2024 Australian Open. He reunited with Mouratoglou in late February, and they have been working together ever since. Boris Becker recently took to social media platform X to ask if Mouratoglou and Rune are still collaborating after not seeing them together in London for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
"Quick question: I see @pmouratoglou in London but NOT with @holgerrune2003 at @Wimbledon…they are still working together?!?" Boris Becker wrote on X.
Holger Rune found it "strange" that Becker chose to ask such a question on a public platform when he could have asked him personally via text. The Dane cheekily wrote that he is still working with the French coach and sharing tournaments as they had previously planned.
"Super strange you don’t ask me this question directly as we text together about other stuff. The answer to your question is yes we work together. Sharing the tournaments between us as planned," Holger Rune responded.
Tennis fans were pleasantly surprised by Rune's prompt response to Becker's query and impressed by the young star's handling of the situation. They appreciated his directness and praised his social media skills.
"Clock that jailbird again for me," a fan quipped.
"Love that Scandi directness...game set match Holger," another fan wrote.
"Holger Rune doesn't care who you are. If you mess with him, he won't stay quiet. That's why we love him," a fan said.
Fans even dubbed the exchange among the best tennis moments of the year and called his X handle their favorite.
A fan tweeted, "Well, that certainly was one of the tennis moments of 2024."
"Holger’s Twitter account might just be one of my favorites ever," wrote a fan.
Some fans also found Boris Becker's tweet unnecessary and called into question his need to ask such questions on social media. Others slammed his post as an attempt to stay in the limelight and urged Rune to ignore such distraction before a slam.
"Was this tweet really necessary @TheBorisBecker? Sometimes less is more remember," a fan questioned.
"It is strange. Anything for a storyline these days. Stay focused, King!" another fan commented on X.
"Boris is clearly looking for a job again 😀 Go Holger," a fan said.
Holger Rune faces Kwon Soon-woo in 1R at Wimbledon Championships 2024
Holger Rune will start his campaign at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships as the No. 15 seed against Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea on July 2. Both men have faced each other twice on the court, with Kwon winning both contests. His latest victory came at the 2022 Australian Open.
Rune is looking for good court results after a few rough months on the tour. The Dane played at the cinch Championships in the lead-up to the Wimbledon Championships and unceremoniously lost to Jordan Thompson in his opening match.
The World No. 15 has not won a title on the 2024 ATP Tour, with his best results coming at the Brisbane International (runners-up) and French Open (fourth round). He is in danger of falling further in the ATP Ranking if he does not defend the 360 quarterfinal points he earned last year at Wimbledon.