As the biggest stars spent January competing for the crown at the Australian Open, there was one notable name missing from the schedule: Holger Rune.
The 22-year-old has been sidelined since last October, when he suffered an Achilles injury in Stockholm, bringing his season to an abrupt halt and sending him down an unexpected, but ultimately reflective, road to recovery.
“It was very unexpected,” Rune recalled to ATPTour.com. “I didn’t know quite what happened when it happened, but after that the first focus was what to do now and how to move forward.”
An MRI soon confirmed the diagnosis and surgery followed shortly after: “Luckily everything went really well,” Rune said. “My surgeon did an amazing job, the physios are great and my team is really good.”
While Rune has not competed on the ATP Tour since October, time away from match play has hardly meant time off. After two weeks of instructed rest, the Dane quickly returned to a structured routine, beginning in the gym before gradually making his way back onto the court in December.
“My time has actually been really busy, which is nice,” Rune explained. “I’ve had a very tight schedule because there are so many things to do in the rehab. It keeps me occupied during the time off.
“Right after the injury, I really needed rest anyway. I was at the end of the season and ready for a vacation, just not in this way. The first two weeks in the cast went really quickly. I was relaxing, going to the gym a little bit, and it was nice to have time off. After that it became more intense. I never thought it would be forever. I’m really young and healing really fast so far, which is good.”
One of the most encouraging milestones has been Rune’s recent return to hitting on court. After initially striking balls while restricted to one leg, the former No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is now able to train with both feet firmly planted.
“It’s amazing, especially now that I’m hitting on two legs,” Rune said. “It’s starting to feel really nice. Before it was nice too, but it’s not quite the same when you know what you’re capable of. Now it’s more fun because I can actually put some energy behind the ball.
“There’s still a lot of rehab to do, but just being back on the tennis court is really nice. I think it’s going to be helpful when I come back that I’ve kept the swing and everything going, because we don’t want other injuries from too much time off. So far I think we’ve used our time the right way.”
Away from the physio table and the practice court, Rune has discovered a rare pause in an otherwise relentless career, a chance to slow the tempo and reconnect with life beyond the Tour. Back home in Denmark, extended time with family and close friends has offered both comfort and perspective, while films, football and other sports have helped fill the quieter hours. Even then, competition is never far away, surfacing in card games, gym challenges and anything that allows him to keep that edge sharp.
“It’s nice to be more with family and close friends,” Rune said. “We don’t really get that chance normally. I have watched a lot of films, especially at the beginning after the surgery. I was on the sofa with the leg up watching Netflix and some James Bond as well. Now I’ve been to a football game, watched other sports and tried to occupy my brain with things other than tennis. I watched Formula 1 when I was in Qatar, too.
“I have always been competing since I was young. Always eager to win and fight. I had that dragon inside me on court. I still have it. This injury is a moment to show myself how much strength I have and how much I’m willing to put into it. I miss the adrenaline and competitiveness, even at home doing gym exercises or small games just to feel it again. I am getting my competitiveness out that way.”
That same drive has carried into the planning behind his recovery. Rune and his team have leaned on research and conversations with other athletes who have navigated similar setbacks, seeking reassurance and clarity in an unfamiliar situation.
“We searched a lot. With Achilles injuries, most studies are on older people, and many don’t have surgery and recovery can be a year,” Rune said. “But for athletes it’s different and quicker as we have the surgery. Surgery was the most natural thing for me to speed up the process in a healthy way.
“One football player reached out to me. He had the same injury and was back after four and a half months. There are strict guidelines and you can’t skip steps. I’m strong and young, so I believe I’ll recover quickly, but it takes hard work and smart work.”
Throughout his time away, support from fans and fellow players has been a powerful reminder of the community that exists beyond competition, something Rune admits he misses as much as the matches themselves.
“That’s one of the parts I miss most, performing on court and feeling the support. I’ve also had nice messages from a lot of players. Even though we’re competitors, we’re colleagues and want the best for each other,” Rune said.
Since breaking onto the Tour in 2021, Rune has steadily established himself among the game’s elite. He announced himself on the biggest stages early, taking a set from Novak Djokovic at the 2021 US Open as a qualifier, before lifting tour-level trophies in Munich and Stockholm in 2022.
Later that season, Rune stunned the tennis world at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris, defeating Djokovic to claim the biggest title of his career. The victory propelled him into the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time and made him the youngest Paris champion since Boris Becker in 1986.
In the years since, he has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, added titles in Munich and Barcelona and remained a consistent presence inside the Top 15.
The pause has given Rune valuable space to reflect on his journey so far and reassess how he approaches the demands of life on Tour.
“When you play every week, you don’t really stop to assess things,” Rune said. “I think it’s about managing tournaments better and listening more to my body. Sometimes you push too much, and now it was too much for my body. In the future, I’ll try to look at the bigger picture, not just the next goal, but how I feel physically and mentally. I think that is important for my longer-term aims.
“But this break, I have had a chance to look back. It meant a lot [to win Barcelona]. Paris is still my most memorable win, but every title is special. Last season that was the perfect week, and Indian Wells [final] was also a great week.”
As Rune continues to build toward his return, the excitement is clear and growing with every session back on court.
“I’m so excited to get back,” Rune said. “In training now, I can really put energy behind the ball again and it feels amazing. I’m looking forward to it and I think I’ll come back stronger and hopefully have many more perfect weeks in my career.”
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