Holger Rune has a new man at the helm of the coaching chair, which has raised speculation on what exactly happened to the man before him, Lars Christensen.
The story between Rune and Christensen dates back to when the Danish tennis star was only six years old. Christensen has fast-tracked Rune's rise into the upper echelons of men's tennis, where he is entrenched in the world's Top 10 in the ATP Rankings.
But that was until this year when Rune decided to retain French coach Patrick Mouratoglou. By Rune's own admission when he first joined Mouratoglou's academy in his teenage years was that Christensen didn't have international exposure as a coach.
So when the opportunity to appoint Serena Williams' ex-coach arose, he grabbed it with both hands. But having Mouratoglou and Christensen wasn't all that effective in the long run, as Rune's mother would reveal, that the two coaches' egos clashed, which explains why they never traveled as a group.
That early promise in the partnership with Mouratoglou soon vanished and Rune was now losing matches left, right, and centre in almost every continent. The timing of his injury woes might probably have caused his recent slump, but it was clear that alliance with Mouratoglou had run its course.
Rune made the decision to part ways with Mouratologu, and recalled Christensen, who it has to be noted, was never fired in the first place. But since the 20-year-old's big-name appointment a few weeks ago of bringing German tennis great Boris Becker into his team, fans have questioned Christensen's role.
And the 59-year-old was nowhere near the coaching seat in Stockholm, where Rune's title defense came to a juddering halt in his first match. However, according to Danish outlet TV2 Sports, it was Christensen's decision not to accompany his protege in tournaments during the close season.
That means Rune's contract with Boris Becker will involve tournaments during the indoor hard-court swing in Europe including the ATP Finals if Rune qualifies. In the meantime, Christensen is working with another Danish prospect Clara Tauson back home, having been together during the Asian swing.
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