Holger Rune Unwilling to “Put A Date” On His Return From Injury

Holger Rune was expected to return from injury before the Wimbledon Championship, but the Danish star changed his mind and decided to withdraw from the Grand Slam event. He has now revealed that there’s no date for his return to tour as he aims to fully recover before making his comeback.

Rune reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2023 and was amongst the few players dubbed to win a Grand Slam in the future. However, before his injury, he was ranked in the top 10 but he’s currently ranked outside the Top 60 in the world and will likely drop further after the grass court season.

He featured in back-to-back tournaments from last August to October. First, at the US Open, then at the Davis Cup, followed by the Laver Cup on the hard court in San Francisco, then the Japan and China Open. Rune saw his chance of earning a place in the ATP Finals in Turin and decided to play in Stockholm.

It was at the Stockholm Open that he ruptured his Achilles tendon. In recent months, Rune’s team has revealed that his tendon rehabilitation is progressing exceptionally well, but after a scan, a secondary knee issue was revealed during his intensive comeback training over the last few months.

That has now delayed Rune’s return to tour, and he’s likely to be out for a longer time. Reports suggest that it might be after the US Open. But in an interview with AFP, Rune failed to give any date or specify which tournament he will mark his return to the court. He added that he’s going to take his time this time around until he’s fully ready to compete in events.

Before, maybe you have a few problems here and there and you make them a bigger deal than they maybe are. And now you understand, okay, this is a real tough moment and this is hard to come back from. But I always have big faith in myself that I’m able to come back from anything. Things are looking good now so it’s really when I feel ready, I’ll be back. I’m not going to put a date on it. It’s when I’m ready.

Rune is not the only player to have withdrawn from Wimbledon. Several notable players, including Lorenzo Musetti, former World No.1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz, and Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko, have all withdrawn from the grass-court major event.

Holger Rune aims to come back and challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Holger Rune was one of the young players dubbed to dominate the men’s circuit before the rise of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. He has not lived up to expectations and perhaps tried to push himself beyond limits to reach his best and play in the ATP Finals, which led to his injury last October.

Rune has now watched Sinner and Alcaraz continue their dominance on tour this season., particularly Sinner, who has won five ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in the past four months. During the aforementioned interview, he admitted that he wants to return to the court at his best and play at the level where he can beat Sinner and Alcaraz.

I just want to go out there and enjoy myself, enjoy being back and try to be the biggest beast I can and deliver. Iwant to come back better than before. That’s the level I want to be playing at. I know I can beat both of them. I’ve done it. The last time I played Carlos, I won. I just need to learn how to do it every week.

Sinner is already at the All England Club ahead of his Wimbledon title defense. The 24-year-old didn’t play in any warm-up tournament ahead of the Grand Slam following his shocking second-round exit at the French Open. The defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo came after more than 30 consecutive victories.

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