Rune explains his altercation with a fan: "He grabbed me, I asked three times for him to be removed from the stadium"

Fernando Murciego | 30 May 2025 | 19.50

Holger Rune explained his controversy with a Paris fan. Source: Getty

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Although he had to endure almost four hours, Holger Rune achieved the goal of overcoming the third test of this Roland Garros against Quentin Halys, who played one of the best matches of his career. However, within his victory, there was a moment of maximum tension when a fan crossed the safety distance from the front row, causing a stressful situation for the 22-year-old player, to the point of asking the chair umpire to eject him from the stadium. What finally happened? Rune explained it at the press conference afterward, emphasizing the gained confidence before advancing to the round of 16.

Assessment of the match

“It was a very tough match, every time I face Quentin, it's like a battlefield. Last year at Wimbledon, I was down two sets to love, and I had to push myself to the limit to find a way to win. I think today's conditions favored him; it was very hot, and the ball was flying very fast. It was difficult to break his serve, so in the end, I played with much more freedom, trying to go for my shots.”

Altercation with the fan

“I placed the towel in the box, and the guy was yelling at me very aggressively, he even grabbed me. It seemed very strange to me because I didn’t do anything to him; he shouldn't interact with a player on the court, I think it's a bit shameful. I told the supervisor that I preferred him not to be there because it was uncomfortable, but they said they would review the video to see if it was true. I suppose they did review it because I didn't see him for the rest of the match. It was the right thing; it's not nice when the crowd gets aggressive with you when you did nothing wrong.”

His anger with the chair umpire

“I asked three times for him to be removed from the stadium; I don't know, it bothered me so much that I threw the towel in the box with a lot of anger. In the end, I can do whatever I want with my towels, as long as I maintain respect for everyone, which I did, but the referee also didn't give me any warning. I don’t think someone like that should be allowed to be there, in the end, we are here to play, everyone should try to offer the utmost respect. In fact, today I was very happy with how the rest of the crowd behaved; they were very respectful. Obviously, when we were at 5-4, a tense moment, they supported me a lot, but that's normal. In fact, at the end of the match, when we shook hands, he told me, ‘Sorry about the crowd.’ I told him not to worry; it wasn't a big deal.”

Losing the first set

“I think today in the first set, he served well, but I had a bad game at the least opportune moments, that was what really made the difference. I don't think I played badly in the first set today, but there are games and moments where tennis players can't afford to play poorly. I could have almost lost today because of that, as I can't afford to give away that first set that way. I'm looking forward to the next match; it will surely be a great battle. Lorenzo is coming in a great moment, so I'm excited.”

His viral under-the-net shot

“To make a shot like that takes a lot of talent (laughs). No, just kidding, he played a drop shot, and I rushed up and hit that shot with a bit of luck that touched the net, to which he responded with another ridiculous shot. Luckily, I'm fast, so I lunged and thought about the only opportunity I had, playing under the net. Once you're there, it's not really the hardest shot, because you can hit it lower. It turned out well because I went quickly for the ball and found the right position to hit it, but yes, it was incredible. I've watched it a million times, and it looked great; I'm really happy.”

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rune explica su altercado con un aficionado: “Me agarró, pedí tres veces que lo sacaran del estadio”