Holger Rune's past two seasons weren't as exceptional as he might have hoped, and he's well aware of the mistakes made.
The young Dane showed his incredible potential already in 2021, winning 75 matches across different levels that year. In 2022, he made a step up to the Tour-level tennis.
His first title of that season came at the ATP Challenger event in Sanremo, but already less than a month after that, he triumphed at the Munich Open before also winning at the Stockholm Open at the end of the season.
It seemed like a dream season for a then 19-year-old player, but little did he know that it would get even better. He entered the 2022 Paris Masters as one of the unseeded players, but sensationally, he won the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.
That win secured him a Top 10 breakthrough, and immediately, tennis fans created a "next generation Big Three," consisting of Rune, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner.
Since then, however, Alcaraz won four Grand Slam titles and became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the sport. Sinner won two majors and currently holds the World No. 1 spot, while Rune's only title since then came at the Munich Open in 2023.
Although he's still ranked well inside of the Top 20, seeing his young rivals thrive might have been a bit humbling for the young Dane, but in recent months, he again showed why he's considered to be one of the best young players on the ATP Tour.
Still, he's aware of the mistakes he made in the past two years, and he wasn't shying away from admitting them in an interview with Tennis365 during his participation at the 2024 Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) Grand Final in London.
The 21-year-old player admitted that he might not have put enough effort into becoming a better player, or at least not enough to be more successful than he currently is.
"I have always believed in myself, but over the last one and a half years, I haven’t put the right work in. Now I am putting the right work in I hope the rewards will come."
"Without the specific tennis, fitness and mental things we are working on, it won’t happen. Everyone can say they want to win a Grand Slam, but you need to put the right work in."
Asked to expand more, Rune mentioned his notorious coaching situation. Over the years, Rune seemingly couldn't decide who would be the best coach to help him take another significant step in his career.
He worked with Patrick Mouratoglou, three times. He also worked with Boris Becker and Severin Luthi, who coached Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, respectively.
"I can only blame myself because the decisions were all made by me. Every coach I’ve had and every person I’ve had has done the best they can do for my tennis, but it needs to fit the person and I think it’s really, really personal to have the right people."
Ultimately, Rune settled on working with his former coach, Lars Christensen, who currently seems to be the best fit for him.
"There are not hundreds of guys out there, but it’s about having the right people in your team who can give me what I want to improve my game and I feel like I have that now."