Holger Rune Gives Update While Stranded in Doha Amid Middle East Conflict

Because the Middle East Swing concluded recently, many from the tennis world are stuck in that region because of the closure of airspace. Holger Rune is one such case.

But Rune did not compete in any tournament as he, in fact, has been undergoing his rehabilitation since February at Aspetar, a private hospital in Doha. The Dane ruptured his Achilles tendon during his semifinal match against Ugo Humbert in last year’s Stockholm Open and later underwent surgery.

The conflict in the Middle East started after America and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday (February 28) after failed attempts to reach an agreement about nuclear deals. In response, Iran started attacking the bases of these countries across the Middle East, including the Gulf countries. Rune was scheduled to leave Doha for Los Angeles on Sunday (March 1).

Its been a week now since things drastically changed in the Middle East. We have been lucky that we are in Qatar, that protects their citizens and handle the situation extremely professionally.

Holger Rune wrote in an Instagram story

Check out his post here:

Rune’s mom, Aneke Rune, criticized the Danish government, accusing them of not doing anything for their citizens stuck in the Middle East amidst the turmoil. She also revealed that Rune was forced to continue his rehab at his hotel instead of the hospital.

Holger Rune proposes a radical solution to fix schedule problems

Holger Rune blamed the 11-month hectic calendar for his career-threatening Achilles injury. Not just the 22-year-old, many top players from both the ATP and the WTA want the tennis bodies to do something to fix the schedule to give more time to the players to rest and recover properly, and avoid possible injuries.

Rune, during an interview with French media So-Tennis, proposed a radical solution to solve the scheduling issue: make the top seeds play from the second week of the Masters 1000s in the two-week events at this level.

The calendar is incredibly packed. I think the challenge is finding the right balance so players can deliver their best for the fans. I don’t have a miracle solution. We could schedule top seeds in the second week of Masters 1000s, giving them a full week of recovery or training, like before.

Rune is uncertain when exactly he can return and is expected to miss the majority of the 2026 season. Last year, he reached two finals. After losing the Indian Wells Masters to Jack Draper, he defeated seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz at the Barcelona Open.

The new Masters 1000 format is great for lower-ranked players, letting them compete in these major events. That said, it’s a shame top seeds—who typically go deeper in draws—aren’t considered. They should benefit from this structure too, beyond just the financial side, which isn’t happening now.

Holger Rune added

At present, nine Masters 1000 events are held in a season, eight of which fall under the category of mandatory events. Only the Monte Carlo Masters is a non-mandatory tournament.

At the moment, the first Masters 1000 of the season is underway in Indian Wells. Jack Draper is bidding to defend his title, while World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz is chasing his third title of the season as well as in the tournament, having defeated Daniil Medvedev in the finals in 2023 and 2024.

World No.2 Jannik Sinner has yet to progress to the final, making the semifinals twice. Novak Djokovic is the tournament’s most successful player (tied with Roger Federer with five titles) but has yet to advance to the final since defeating Milos Raonic in 2016.

Also read: Jannik Sinner Reveals Changes in his Training After Losing in Doha

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