Holger Rune, a former world No. 4, is set to return to competition this week after being sidelined since last October. As he resumes his season, he reflected on how quickly he went from idolizing tennis greats to sharing their locker room—and then facing them as rivals.
Rune’s Rise in the Tennis World
Rune’s rise accelerated in late 2022, when he won the Paris Masters by defeating five Top-10 opponents, including Novak Djokovic, on his way to the title. By Wimbledon 2023, he arrived as the world No. 6 and, for the first time, stepped into the seeded players’ locker room. Djokovic had already offered him guidance early in his career and marked that milestone with encouragement, a moment Rune has described as a welcome sign that he belonged among the sport’s elite.
His first brushes with the game’s legends came even earlier. As a junior at Roland Garros, he found himself warming up just a few metres from Roger Federer before the Swiss star’s quarter-final against Stan Wawrinka—a surreal experience for a teenager who had grown up watching them on television. In 2024, he trained with Rafael Nadal in Brisbane and came away impressed by the Spaniard’s warmth and interest in his preparation.
Rune says those mentor-style exchanges naturally become rarer as a young player climbs the rankings and turns into a real threat. That shift is visible in his own record against Djokovic, who leads their head-to-head 4-2, underscoring how the relationship moved from advice to direct competition.
He describes the locker room as a place where players manage a delicate balance: friendly in everyday interactions, but completely locked in once match time approaches. Small signs—such as an injury or a dip in confidence—do not go unnoticed, so players try to keep a neutral expression and avoid revealing physical issues. Pre-match moments can be strikingly close-quarters, with opponents often preparing within metres of each other before narrowing their focus, sometimes with music, to block out distractions. After matches, the tension usually fades quickly and the atmosphere returns to normal.
Now a regular presence in the latter stages of big events and a career-high No. 4 in August 2023, Rune gravitates toward peers from his junior days but also enjoys easy camaraderie with veterans. He cites Gaël Monfils as someone who brings levity to the room, illustrating how, even after hard-fought contests, players often share a laugh and move on to the next challenge.