Holger Rune Slams ‘Unnecessary’ ATP 500s but Calls Long Calendar ‘Amazing’

Holger Rune is chasing his second title of the season at the ATP 250 Stockholm Open.

Holger Rune Slams ‘Unnecessary’ ATP 500s but Calls Long Calendar ‘Amazing’

Holger Rune (Image via X/ATP Tour)

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Complaints about the tennis schedule have grown in recent years as the ATP keeps coming up with new rules. This year, the two Masters 1000 tournaments of the North American hardcourt swing, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters, joined five other Masters 1000s in the 12-day tournament category.

Also starting from this year onward, it became mandatory for the ATP players to feature in at least four ATP 500 tournaments, including one after the US Open. Holger Rune doesn’t have any problem with the long 11-month tennis calendar, but he is not at all a fan of the new ATP 500 rule. Rune is in Stockholm for the ATP 250 event, and during the pre-tournament press conference, he addressed the scheduling complaints of his fellow players.

It’s long, but we can still choose. If you play well, you can skip a few tournaments. The only thing I’m less happy about is they make more mandatory ATP 500 events; I think that’s a bit unnecessary. If you don’t want to play 250s, you can now. It’s long, but for me it’s amazing, that’s something I’ve dreamt of my whole life, being on the tour and playing ATP events. I think many others have the same dream.

The Dane, who is also the first seed, kick-started his campaign by beating Marton Fucsovics in straight sets. He is set to lock horns with Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarterfinals on October 17.

Rune has met the Argentinian once and ended the match in his favor. They played in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Swiss Indoors, which Rune won in three sets. Before setting up the clash with the World No.11, the 26-year-old knocked out Miomir Kecmanovic. He will meet Ugo Humbert or Lorenzo Sonego in the semifinals and could meet fellow Scandinavian player Casper Ruud in the final.

Holger Rune on the slow conditions of tournaments

Apart from the schedule, the ATP players are also complaining about the conditions of the courts. The tournaments are accused of deliberately slowing the surface, and Roger Federer also echoed similar claims, saying that the tournament directors slow the surface to benefit Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Alexander Zverev also made the same claim during the recently concluded Shanghai Masters.

Holger Rune (2)
Holger Rune (Image via X/Univers Tennis)

But Holger Rune doesn’t share the same opinion. He, in fact, thinks the balls are slower than the courts. He said during his pre-tournament press conference:

I think it’s more the balls than the courts themselves. Something happened after COVID. I think the material has changed. I spoke to other players and former players about how balls act differently now, feel different on the court. Though I don’t think that’s the case everywhere. Here [in Stockholm] I don’t think it’s that fast, Basel next week is faster, and Paris felt extremely fast last year for me.

In Stockholm, the 22-year-old is bidding to win his second title of the season. Earlier this year, he lifted the Barcelona Open by Alcaraz. Rune also reached the final of Indian Wells but succumbed to a straight-set defeat to Jack Draper. The last ATP 250 title he lifted was the 2023 Munich Open by defeating Botic van de Zandschulp.

After the Stockholm Open, Rune will be in Basel for the ATP 250 Swiss Indoors. Following Basel, Rune’s next destination will be Paris for the final Masters 1000 of the season.

Rune clinched his career’s second title in Stockholm back in 2022 by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas. He also played the final of the 2022 Swiss Indoors, but lost the match to Felix Auger-Aliassime. Rune clinched his career’s first Big Title at the 2022 Paris Masters by defeating none other than Novak Djokovic.

Also read: Casper Ruud Slams ‘Shameless’ Bettors Over Abusive Messages Following Defeats