ATP: Holger Rune with mental coach and better press work in the future
19-year-old Holger Rune is turning two screws that are important to him in order to get back on the road to success.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit:
Jul 23, 2022, 05:04 pm
Holger Rune is considered one of the greatest hopes for the future in international tennis. The 19-year-old Dane has already proven his great talent several times and this season has delighted tennis fans all over the world with his debut title in Munich and with his participation in the quarter-finals at the French Open.
On the other hand, his emotionally unstable performance in Paris against Casper Ruud was less inspiring - first of all, the current number 27 in the world tennis rankings lost his composure, only to then allow the Norwegian to advance to the semi-finals of the clay court Grand Slam tournament. The following grass season was a failure, as was the return to sandy terrain in the Scandinavian town of Bastad.
"I feel comfortable with the situation"
Now Rune wants to get back on the road to success with the help of former elite soldier Bjarne Slot Christiansen, who now works as a mental chaoch. And the two have already identified a big problem - namely the relationship between the northerner and the international press, as Rune noted on Instagram: "The past month has been a month of total learning, especially off the tennis court. I now understand how things are what you do and say can be misinterpreted in the press and used for bad."
There are things Rune would do differently today, but you can't change the past. "You can only learn from this. I'm trying to survive these press 'shows' as best I can. I'm trying to get smarter. I didn't choose tennis because of the fame or the press, but because I love the sport. My enjoyment of the game was interrupted for a while by these circumstances. Now I feel at peace with my situation. I love tennis, it's as simple as that."