Holger Rune has issued a statement saying he needs to work with people who have the ‘same vision’ as him following the departure of Boris Becker from his team.
On Tuesday Becker confirmed on social media that he has stopped working with the Dane with immediate effect due to availability issues. The two only started working together last October with the highlight of their partnership being Rune’s run to the final of the Brisbane International earlier this year. The development comes just days after Roger Federer’s former mentor Severin Luthi also announced his departure from the team due to similar reasons. Luthi was hired last December.
“I would like to inform you that I will step down as the head coach of Holger Rune with immediate effect,” Becker said in a statement.
“We started this partnership with the initial goal to reach the ATP Finals end of last year but moving forward I realised that in order for this to be successful, I would need to be available for Holger much more than I can.’
“Due to professional and private responsibilities, I can’t give Holger what he needs now. I wish him only the very best and I’m always going to be his number one fan. I truly appreciated this journey together.”
Whilst both Becker and Luthi have explained their reasons for no longer working with Rune, it is unclear as to why nobody predicted that such an issue would arise when they started to collaborate. Raising questions about if any other factors have contributed to the changes.
20-year-old Rune is yet to speak publically about the matter. However, he has issued a statement to Danish media via IMG who is in charge of managing his communication. The world No.7 states that he needs to have people in his team whom he trusts ‘to achieve his goals.’ He goes on to praise his former mentors, as well as Lars Christensen who has also stopped working with him in recent months.
“As you know, I have tried different coaching constellations during the last 12 months. After working with the same coach for 15 years, my entire tennis life, it is not easy to find the perfect match on the first try.” Rune said in a press release.
“I have learned a lot and found out what is important for me to feel good and at the same time develop as I want. I have big ambitions and big goals, and I need people around me who have the same vision. And people I can trust to achieve my goals. I need people who know me – who can be there all the time.
“It gives me security and joy in a world with changing environments and conditions every week. I would like to thank everyone involved in the process, Lars, Boris, Severin, I love you.”
Progress is already being made to form Rune’s next team which he says will be announced ‘very soon.’ As it currently stands, he is still supported by coach Kenneth Carlsen, Physical trainer Lapo Becherini, data Analyst Mike James and Physiotherapist Louis Fresneau.
Rune has played 10 Tour-level matches so far this year and has won seven of them. Besides reaching the final in Brisbane, he suffered a second round defeat at the Australian Open before retiring from his semi-final match at the Montpellier Open due to injury.
He is expected to return to action this weekend at an Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) exhibition event in Oslo, Norway before travelling to Rotterdam.
