Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, recently spoke of Holger Rune's career amid form struggles.
Having started the season ranked 7th in the world rankings, Rune fell out of the world's Top 10 during the clay swing. Many onlookers believe the Dane has lost ground on fellow rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Rune celebrated his 21st birthday last month and remains without a title this season. He is not even being talked about in the same breath as the aforementioned duo, who will contend for the French Open title in the next two weeks.
In an episode of Racquet's Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, former doubles No. 1 Stubbs explained why Rune's career has not taken off despite having a talent that is "through the roof."
"His (Holger Rune's) talent level is through the roof but the forehand's a little funk and he just needs to learn how to play tennis better. I feel like he's lost a little bit on the court. He doesn't really have these great gameplans out there."
Rune began the 2024 season in the best possible fashion, reaching an ATP final in Brisbane, where he lost to an in-form Grigor Dimitrov. He initially appointed Boris Becker and Severin Luthi as his coaches, a move that was expected to take him to new heights.
Sadly, that alliance with two prominent coaches did not last long. Luthi was the first to leave the camp less than two months into their contract. Becker was also shown the exit door just a week later.
Tennis fans were led to believe that scheduling issues posed a major challenge for the two coaches before Rune's mother, Aneke, lifted the lid on their turbulent relationship.
In the same podcast, Stubbs added that Rune needs to find his "go-to" choice of shot to serve as his strength on the court, as he is clearly missing something in his locker.
"What are your strengths? What do you play to? He's young and he's athletic, but I feel like he doesn't really know what his go-to stuff is. Like what's your go-to stuff that you can rely on every single point over and over and over?"
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