Rune: "We haven't seen players as consistent as Alcaraz, Sinner, and Zverev"

Andrés Tomás Rico - 21 Sep 2026 | 13:16
ATP Holger Rune Carlos Alcaraz Jannik Sinner Alexander Zverev

The Danish player returned to the courts eleven months after his Achilles tendon rupture and confessed that "when I trained with Alcaraz in Murcia, I realized that I was ready to play."
 

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Rune: "We haven't seen players as consistent as Alcaraz, Sinner, and Zverev." Photo: Getty Images

Holger Rune made a grand return. The Danish player, on the day marking eleven months since his Achilles tendon rupture at the ATP in Stockholm, returned to the courts with two decisive victories that were key to Denmark's win in their Davis Cup tie against Bulgaria. First, he defeated Iliyan Radulov and then took down none other than Grigor Dimitrov.

This confirms that his injury has more than been overcome and that his objectives now are to gain competition rhythm and recover lost ground, as he currently sits at 185th in the ATP rankings. However, this does not seem to worry him as his main goal was to return safe and sound.

After this comeback, Rune gave an interview with Ubitennis where he reflected on several important moments of his recovery, including the moment he realized he was ready for competition: “When I practiced with Carlos Alcaraz in Murcia, I realized that I was ready to play. We decided not to compete at the US Open and to go straight to the Davis Cup. Moreover, it was being held in Denmark, and I was excited to compete at home again.”

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Holger Rune recalled how he experienced his Achilles tendon rupture

The Dane looked back to that September 18, 2025, a day he will never forget, although initially, he didn't think it would mark the beginning of a long nightmare: “I didn't think the situation was that serious. I told the physiotherapist, on the court, that I didn't want to retire: I was winning a set and a break in the semifinal and felt mentally ready to finish the match. The adrenaline was through the roof. But when I tried to get up, I understood that he was right: I couldn't play. And thus began eleven months of hard work to return to the courts.”

From that moment, he got to work and tried to be as optimistic as possible with weekly goals. However, his expectations were not realistic: “At first, I was sure I would return for Indian Wells. I never imagined it would take so long. But tendons and muscles are two very different things: muscles recover quickly, tendons much more slowly. I hoped to return at Roland Garros, and maybe it would have been possible if the knee issue hadn't arisen.”

Rune recalls Zverev when talking about Alcaraz and Sinner

During all these months away from the circuit, Alcaraz and Sinner have continued to dominate with an iron fist. However, with both of them absent at Roland Garros and the US Open, respectively, Alexander Zverev emerged as the main challenger to the Spaniard and the Italian. Something that does not surprise Rune: “I think that, to this day, we have not seen players as consistent at the top of the rankings as Alcaraz, Sinner, and Zverev. I don't see them any more or less vulnerable than before my injury.”

To conclude, the Dane outlined his short-term roadmap: “I will play my first ATP tournament in Tokyo. It's a fantastic tournament, and I'm looking forward to going back there. After that will come Shanghai, Basel, Paris, and Stockholm. After that, I will reassess with my team and work on the aspects I need to improve ahead of Australia,” concluded a Holger Rune who is back and will soon be fighting to be close to Alcaraz, Sinner, and Zverev.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rune se acuerda de Zverev a la hora de hablar de Alcaraz y Sinner