Holger Rune should be considered one of the top young tennis talents and is now the game's anti-hero, according to 22-time doubles major winner Todd Woodbridge.
20-year-old Rune has risen to tennis stardom in the last two years and has broken into the ATP top ten following a fine start to the 2023 season. A fourth-round run at the Australian Open preceded a strong clay-court season for the Dane, who reached the Monte-Carlo Masters final before winning the Munich Open in April.
After impressive performances and improving consistency, Rune has earned plaudits from many tennis figures recently, The Most recent to heap praise on the youngster was Woodbridge who, when speaking to the Australian Open, said Rune should be considered among the new 'Big Three' in ATP tennis alongside Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
"Holger Rune should be added to this list. It's like he's saying: 'hold on just a minute, I am in this equation, and you need to start talking about me. I see him as the game’s new antagonist; I think he's bringing really big energy to matches that are providing another story within tournaments. He's an in-your-face player who is working his tail off.”
Despite the praise and strong performances this season, Rune said he was not getting carried away after being compared to the likes of Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz recently. But Woodbridge believes that Rune has already displayed several top qualities that give him a foundation to become one of the best.
"I've been incredibly impressed watching his physical development; the building of the legs and the body to be robust, to be able to absorb everything. Talent requires ticking many boxes. One of the key ones for me is, yes, he's a street-fighter with a will to win, but he has this work ethic which is making a huge difference and will be part of the reason he's going to continue being successful."
"Currently I don't see weaknesses; I only see opportunities to continue to make that better. What I love about him is that he's not scared to win; he's right in there and wants those victories."
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