Holger Rune has stated that he doesn’t want to be portrayed as a villain and says his actions on the court are due to the passion he has for tennis.
The Danish world No.7 is no stranger to being involved in heated exchanges. At the Madrid Open earlier this month he was booed at by the crowd for rubbing out a mark on the court that his opponent, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, was questioning with the supervisor. Rune later issued a statement on social media saying that the line calls are made by the FoxTenn system and therefore can’t be overruled. During the same match, he also received a talking to from umpire Carlos Bernardes.
In other incidents, Rune was involved in a spat with three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka who told him to ‘stop acting like a baby’ following their clash at the 2022 Paris Masters. During that same year at the French Open, he was accused of ‘making a lie’ about Casper Ruud concerning an interaction they had in the locker room following their match.
It could be argued that Rune is following in the footsteps of Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios by being known as the ‘bad boy’ of tennis. However, he has insisted this is not a true reflection of him as a person.
“I don’t think so personally,” Rune said during an interview with Eurosport.
“Many players don’t show emotions. Maybe the ones who show emotion they call them this but I don’t agree. Of course everyone has their own opinion and I respect it.
“When people try to hype up something everyone is getting hyped about it.”
Rune admits that he is still learning about what is the best way to conduct himself on the court. So far this season, he has won 22 out of 31 matches played with his best result being at Munich where he won his fourth ATP trophy. He was also runner-up at the Monte Carlo Masters to Andrey Rublev and has recorded two wins over top 10 players.
“Sometimes yes, sometimes not [good to show emotion],” he continued.
“It depends on the emotion. Now I’m 20, I’m still learning and trying to do what’s best for me. Trying a few things here and there.
“At the end of the day it’s the passion for the sport and I really like to compete and do everything I can do to win.”
At this week’s Italian Open, Rune will begin his campaign against Arthur Fils on Friday. It is the first time in his career that he is playing in the main draw of the Masters 1000 tournament.
