Fans Accuse Holger Rune of Faking Cramps During Shanghai Masters Defeat to Qualifier – “I Hate Him So Much”

Holger Rune dealt with muscle cramps before he crashed out of the Shanghai Masters with a three-set defeat to qualifier Valentin Vacherot. The Monegasque has now knocked out four seeded players, starting from 14th seed Alexander Bublik in the first round.

Tomas Machac (gave the walkover) and Tallon Griekspoor were his next two opponents before he overcame the Dane in two hours and 59 minutes, which is also his biggest win of his career. He has now become the second-lowest-ranked semifinalist in Masters 1000 events since 1990, following then World No.500 Chris Woodruff at the 1999 Indian Wells.

After breezing past the 26-year-old in the first set 6-2, Rune couldn’t capitalize on his momentum as he lost the second set 6-7(4). But in the decider, the 22-year-old struggled physically and received treatment on his right upper leg.

grande peccato per rune che ha sofferto di crampi per tutto il terzo set e giocava trascinando la gamba, se avesse avuto panichi come preparatore- ah no scusate pic.twitter.com/ZsQ1tc1zuy

— fede (@meowsaniee) October 9, 2025

It’s the third time in the main draw that Vacherot came from a set down to clinch a win over seeded players. The World No.204 has zero titles to his name, and before this tournament, he had never progressed beyond the second round of a Masters 1000 tournament.

He will next be facing another seeded player, and he is none other than tennis’s most successful player- Novak Djokovic. The 24-time Grand Slam champion, also the tournament’s most successful player with four titles, knocked out Zizou Bergs in the previous round.

Fans call Holger Rune a liar

Due to the scorching conditions in Shanghai, players are struggling with cramps and other issues. Djokovic vomited multiple times, while defending champion Jannik Sinner was forced to give the walkover to Tallon Griekspoor in the third round.

But some fans think these players are only faking cramps and even questioned Sinner in spite of his mid-match retirement. When Djokovic collapsed on court, he too was not spared, as some fans doubted whether he actually was struggling. And now, the same happened with Rune, with fans accusing him of faking his struggles.

Check out their reactions here:

That Rune injury was so fucking fake LMAO

— Steve (@MonjePicks) October 9, 2025

Holger Rune better have a torn ACL, PCL, and meniscus, fucker just sold the shit out of my ticket.

— Baker (@BetTactician) October 9, 2025

That injury from rune is all an act. Sore loser that couldn’t handle losing. Shameful

— Gillatt Tipping (@GillattTipping) October 9, 2025

I don’t even believe Rune has an injury. He’s just embarrassed he’s losing to a qualifier

— Gillatt Tipping (@GillattTipping) October 9, 2025

Rune has always an injury when hes losing ahaaha

— 𝚛𝚞𝚋𝚎𝚗 (@ruben_tavares_) October 9, 2025

Fucking fgt rune faking cramps to match fix

— Jakub m (@Jakubm34665710) October 9, 2025

I hate him so much right now.

— SimD (@stsdlamini) October 9, 2025

Fucking Rune

— Sebas Corona (@MiLaNoSaR) October 9, 2025

Rune was chasing his second title of the season following his Barcelona Open win over Carlos Alcaraz. He also reached the Indian Wells Masters final, but the match ended in favor of Jack Draper. Rune has only one Masters 1000 title to his name- the 2022 Paris Masters that he clinched by beating Novak Djokovic. Since then, he lost three Masters 1000 finals.

Valentin Vacherot describes his match against Holger Rune

Vacherot is the first player from Monaco to reach the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 tournament. He is also the second qualifier to advance to a Masters 1000 semifinal in 2025 after Terence Atmane in Cincinnati. Following the match, Vacherot was asked to describe his match against Rune.

Today I was just so shocked at how he was defending, getting points that I would win against 90% of the guys, I felt like I was coming in having an easy volley, he would pass me. The first set was pretty physical; my lungs were screaming a little bit, and that helped me a lot for the second set to play even more freely. At the end, what I’m most surprised about is I think I beat him physically; that’s just unreal.

Valentin Vacherot said during the on-court interview

Vacherot, who climbed 112 places up, will reach a career-high No.92 ranking on Monday. He will also become a top 100 player for the first time in his career. If he beats Djokovic, he will replace Sebastian Korda to occupy the No.58 spot on the rankings table with 933 points. And if he lifts the Shanghai Masters, he will become a World No.39 with 1,283 points.

Also read: Aryna Sabalenka Seeks Credit From Novak Djokovic for his Heroic Performances in Shanghai