Holger Rune looked really good at the 2024 Montpellier Open, but he was forced to retire in the semi-final after experiencing some injury issues.
Rune didn't have a good time in Australia by crashing out early against a wild card entry, Arthur Cazaux. That made this upcoming indoor stretch even more important for the young Dane, and he was certainly playing like that in Montpellier.
Eventually, he found himself in a semi-final against Borna Coric and started with an early break. Things went off the rails quickly after that as Rune's game completely collapsed.
His serve was ineffective, giving Coric a chance to apply heavy pressure, and the match turned around quickly, but it wasn't that the 20-year-old would be playing badly, he was just limited in his play
Down 1-4 in the second set Rune opted to retire to seemingly preserve his health. He alluded to that on social media by writing 'health first.'
His team took it a bit further as his mother, Aneke, commented to Danish TV2 that Rune's forearm felt a bit sore the day before the amtch, and it simply didn't go the way they wanted, and that's why he has decided to retire.
"His elbow/forearm was already sore yesterday (Friday) and the agreement was that if he felt it in the elbow in battle, and it did not relieve by treating the muscle, he should stop."
That's not ideal for Rune, as a significant stretch of the season is coming up. He'd like to play it, but obviously, an injury is bothering him, and he needs to let it rest a bit, at least according to his team and his mother.
"There is some irritation that clearly needs to be calmed down with some rest. Of course, you have to take your body’s signals seriously."
We'll see what happens in the coming weeks, but ultimately, it wouldn't be surprising if Rune misses every tournament until the Indian Wells Open next month. That event and the Miami Open are certainly more important than any of the upcoming events.
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