“Not looking good for Holger Rune”,"Begging you to end this season now!"- Tennis fans react as Dane’s woes continue with Shanghai Masters loss
Holger Rune, currently ranked 8th in the World, was ousted by American Brandon Nakashima at the Shanghai Masters 0-6, 2-6. This marked Rune’s 8th loss in his last nine matches, giving fans a serious cause for concern with some calling for him to end his season now itself.
Holger Rune has had a bittersweet season in 2023. Having reached two Masters 1000 finals and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon earlier in the year, Rune achieved his career-best ranking of World No. 4 when he reached the second round of the Cincinnati Masters during the American swing. However, he has not fared well at all since his Wimbledon exit at the hands of eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz.
Since losing to Alcaraz in London, Rune’s only win has come at the recently concluded China Open, where he beat another struggling youngster Felix Auger-Aliassime before losing in the next round. The dismal form displayed by the Dane could be attributed to the back injury he has been nursing since the French Open, which seems to have become progressively worse since.
Many expected Holger Rune to skip the Asian swing of the season so that he could focus on recovering, but the prospect of qualifying and competing at the ATP Finals seems to have been too strong an urge for Rune to resist.
Apart from his injury concerns, Rune has also had to do a bit of reshuffling with his team, especially his coaching team. Having been working under the tutelage of Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou for a while, Rune’s mother recently announced their split, citing “ego clashes” between Patrick and Rune’s long-time coach Lars Christensen.
All of this put together is evidently hampering Holger Rune from playing his best on the court. And fans turned to X (formerly Twitter) to express their concerns for the Dane.
"It's not lokking good for him," an account posted.
"Holger please, I am BEGGING you to end this season now! If I have to bribe you with Welsh cakes and a heart rending rendition of Wind Beneath My Wings, I will do it!," a fan tweeted.
Here are a few more reactions:
Novak Djokovic’s old locker proves unlucky for Holger Rune
Holger Rune arrived at the Shanghai Masters and was ecstatic to discover the locker he had been assigned by the organizers. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had previously used the same locker that was now under Holger Rune’s name.
The Dane proudly showed off his locker and its previous users in a social media post. Djokovic even responded to the same with a comical take, “accusing” Rune of “stealing” his locker.
Sadly for Rune, the locker won’t be in use any more given his premature exit from the tournament. The locker seems to have proven unlucky for the Dane, who simply couldn’t live up to the standards set by its previous users.