Holger Rune is no stranger to boos as the Danish player experienced plenty this year; the most recent one happened at the 2023 Wimbledon.
It came after he beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the 3rd round of the competition. The Danish player was playing a very competitive match against the Spaniard that went on for four hours. Rune ultimately saved two match points as well as coming back from 5-8 down in the match tiebreak to win 10-8 in the final set.
It was a spectacular comeback, but one that earned him boos from part of the crowd which was backing Davidovich Fokina. Rune played a part in that as he provoked the crowd a few times by pointing to his ear, including that time when he saved match points at 5-4 in the final set.
The Danish player isn't afraid to clash with crowds as we saw it at the Italian Open earlier this year. He was booed by the Rome crowd upon entering the court, something that former player Rennae Stubbs called disgraceful.
The Danish player himself doesn't mind it too much as he gets energy from that. He generally prefers the crowd to be engaged during a match and make noise as opposed to just sitting there and clapping in silence. Any noise is good noise for Rune even if they're booing him.
The way he handles his tennis on the court and the way he doesn't back down from the crowd earned him descriptors which he doesn't necessarily agree with. He has been called cocky before though he denies it simply admitting to being a very passionate player.
Others have spoken about his passion for tennis as Stefanos Tsitsipas famously noted that Rune is 'obsessed with tennis'. Rune's coach Patrick Mouratoglou also talked about his passion on the court explaining how it's a big asset for the Danish player.
The young Dane heard some more boos also during his post-match on-court interview. He was asked about the crowd and while he praised them and received some applause for that, there were still people who thought it would make sense to boo.
"It was unbelievable. It's one of the fun matches I've ever played. It's quite a small court but you guys made it absoulutely amazing, so thank you."
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