Holger Rune Seen Practicing With Legend Andre Agassi In New Partnership Trial

Holger Rune has turned to one of the most iconic figures in tennis history for inspiration ahead of the 2025 Citi Open in Washington.

Despite being just 22, Rune has had several spells with different coaches already. That includes three periods with Naomi Osaka's current coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, who used to work with Serena Williams.

None of his coaches to date have been able to help Rune reach the level of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. When Rune won the 2022 Paris Masters, he was ahead of Sinner, who did not win a maiden Masters 1000 title until August 2023 at the Canadian Open.

Sinner and Alcaraz have since established themselves as the two best ATP players in the world. They have won the last seven Grand Slams and contested the last two major finals at the French Open and Wimbledon, each triumphing once.

Rune previously admitted he did not work as hard as he could have, but the former world No. 4 has sought to rectify that in the last 12 months. While that is a positive step, he remains behind his young rivals.

Sometimes, working with a legend of the sport can be a catalyst for players. Novak Djokovic has enjoyed success with that approach in his collaborations with Goran Ivansevic and Boris Becker, but he was less successful with Andre Agassi and Andy Murray before their split.

Agassi hopes his approach and words of wisdom have a more positive impact on Rune. The pair is working together for three days in Washington, with Rune scheduled to appear at next week's Citi Open in the US capital.

Rune has not appointed the eight-time Grand Slam champion as his coach. They are working together for three days to see whether Agassi can help him and if there is any chemistry between them.

Below is a video of Agassi with Rune. For much of the video, the Dane is returning serve, and what the tennis legend says to him cannot be clearly heard. Rune, panting after sitting down between training, shares a smile with Agassi in the final few seconds.

Whether the pair continues collaborating beyond the three days is open-ended at this stage. Although this is not a very long window to determine whether a partnership has potential, it reflects how little time Rune usually spends with coaches.

Iga Swiatek and Wim Fissette are an example of a player/coach relationship that took a while to develop properly. After appointing Fissette, a two-time coach of Osaka, the Pole did not reach a final in the first eight months.

The former WTA world No. 1's fortunes unexpectedly changed on grass. She lost the 2025 Bad Homburg Open final before enjoying a stunning run to the Wimbledon title, which led to her dancing with Jannik Sinner at the Champions' Ball.

Although it is challenging to predict with certainty whether any collaboration will work, Rune might benefit from stability and trying something for a while. Adding Agassi to his team for at least a year could achieve that.