It fits to describe Holger Rune–the sixth-ranked male tennis player in the world heading into the French Open–in terms of temperature. His focus and determination are stone cold, best evinced by the way he perpetually stalks the back of the court during play. He can go from heated about a call to rifling off an unfazed frozen-rope forehand to get back on track. And his irises are the color of ice-sheathed slate. They don’t do a very good job of hiding his goal: to be and to stay at the apex of the game. “From the day he said he wanted to be the best in the world, around age six or seven,” says his mother and manager, Aneke, “I saw fire in his eyes.”
Rune is now twenty, and that benchmark is very much within reach. The day before the French Open began, we met at his hotel in a leafy enclave of western Paris, not far from Stade Roland Garros’ hallowed red-clay grounds. Spring was in full swing, and, in this particular arrondissement, it seemed to relax both its denizens, sunning in their gardens, and drop-ins, many here for the tournament, alike. Rune, 6’2” with big strides, ambled calmly through the room, casually tossing his tennis bag on the floor before taking a seat. “I just trained with Tommy Paul,” he said, settling in. “It was sort of a practice match, with an umpire, ball kids, a crowd. It was fun. Good fun.” He smiled wide. This is another Rune trait, though maybe less obvious. On court, he is stern-faced, and, not infrequently, visibly displeased about one thing or another. But otherwise, he appears to be genuinely, expressively happy–a guy who is downright “obsessed” with tennis. “You have to be,” he said, smiling again.
A former world number one on the junior circuit (he actually won the French Open Boys’ title in 2019), the Danish Rune turned pro in 2020. His climb really got started in 2022: He took the BMW Open last May in Munich (which he won again just a few weeks ago), delivered a breakthrough into the quarters at last year’s French Open, and secured the Stockholm Open in October. He then scored a unique moment in tennis history: Rune clinched the Rolex Paris Masters in November, in the process becoming the first man ever to defeat five top-10 players in a single tournament, including Novak Djokovic. In 2023, he’s also made it to the finals of two high-profile, high-level events: the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Italian Open, taking second place to Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev, respectively. During the clay court season this year, he often sported a camouflaging monochrome Nike set. Dripped in a terra cotta tone that blended with the court’s surface, on TV in Monaco and Rome he looked like something of a red-earth wraith, haunting the corners and executing frighteningly good shot-making.
He’s still young enough that each of these tournaments—the triumphs and the almost-triumphs—are formative learning experiences. “[Paris] gave me a lot of belief,” said Rune. “That I could beat these top players. But even from wins, you have to move ahead quickly. It’s about consistency–and being able to do it all over again.” Regarding the runner-up slots in Monaco and Italy: “If I’m being honest, I [wasn’t] brave enough in those finals.”
Rune has occasionally drawn ire for his behavior and antics on court. He is not a “bad boy,” as some have labeled him–there may be racket tossing, but there is no racket-snapping, and no bullying. Yet he does often have something to say. He isn’t afraid to argue with umpires, or incense crowds. His disposition has occasionally irked some players on the tour (Stan Wawrinka and Casper Ruud among them). Most notably, his competitive mannerisms are markedly different from the cohort of tennis’s rising young male stars: the 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz is a little snappier and springier and the 21-year-old Jannik Sinner is more stoic. On the other hand, Rune’s style is more pointedly tactical. It’s emotional. It’s fiery. And even if that means alienating the odd audience or opponent, he’s OK with it.
“I know there are some situations on the court that are impossible to win,” he explained. “In those moments, it’s just important for me to say my statement, say what I think. From there, I move on.” He added: “I’m obviously very passionate, showing fighter energy. If that’s good enough, I win, and if I’m not good enough, it’s just back to practice, to learn from the mistakes.”
Physically, Rune’s game is well rounded and his form is excellent–it’s hard to spot any ongoing mechanical weaknesses. In this sense, there are similarities to Alcaraz (the two have played against one another for half of their lifetimes). Rune can rocket ground strokes through finely margined angles, switch it up with feathery drop shots, chase down miles-away balls, serve to kill, and he’s fit as hell, too, which bodes well for Slams, where male players must win 3 out of 5 sets instead of 2 out of 3.
He’s also cognizant that his “fighter energy” can help boost the sport’s entertainment value, lately a hot topic: Part 2 of Netflix’s hit tennis documentary series, Break Point, premieres in June.
“I’d rather have an atmosphere than no atmosphere,” Rune said. “It makes the sport bigger, gets more interest, and tennis needs that.” He’d recently attended a Miami Heat game, he mentioned, and appreciated the openness and liveliness of the experience. “If someone spills a glass [in the audience] at tennis, everyone looks…” He narrowed a mock side-eye.
Whether 2023’s Roland-Garros yields Rune’s biggest moment yet remains to be seen. Rafael Nadal, long considered the best men’s clay player in history, withdrew from the tournament in mid-May due to injury-related fitness issues. He’s been such a force at Roland-Garros that his exit alone clears plenty of paths, for Rune and the rest of the pack.
“I think for this tournament, it’s going to make it much more open that he’s not here,” Rune said. “He’s lost three times here in eighteen years. Of course, we always want to see him here. But we’d rather see him playing a tournament in full than at half.”
If Rune makes the leap this year, it will be because he insists on it—because it’s part of his plan. “I have beaten players with more experience than me,” he said. “But I believe that you can force experience, a little bit. If you force yourself to learn quickly and be aware of what’s happening, you gain that much more ground. Right now, I’m very aware.”
