Holger Rune explains why he refused to shake umpire's hand after heated Davis Cup clash
NewsSunday, 14 September 2025 at 22:54
Holger Rune refused to shake the umpire's hand after his second singles match in the second round of the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers, and after the match, he explained why.
Rune hoped to lead his country to the Final 8 of the 2025 Davis Cup. After beating strong Serbia in the first round of the Qualifiers, Denmark took on Spain in the second (and final) round. The Spanish hopes took a massive hit with Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawal, while Dane's grew in confidence.
The Danish team handled the opening day of the tie, which was played on the clay courts at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella, Spain, perfectly. Rune, who played with a new blacked-out racket, beat Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 6-3, and Elmer Moeller shocked Jaume Munar with an impressive comeback, winning 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
It was 2-0 for Denmark after day one, and things looked even more promising at the start of day two. August Holmgren and Johannes Ingildsen played a great first set of their doubles match, winning it 6-1. At that point, the Danish team was only one set away from securing the Final 8.
But then, Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar started a comeback, winning the following two sets to win the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. Martinez didn't have a lot of time to rest, as he immediately had to dress up to play a singles match against Rune. He was surprisingly chosen over Munar.
The match was a proper battle. Martinez came out firing, winning the first set 6-1, and he even led 4-2 in the second set. But Rune never gave up. He won four games in a row to turn the second set around, winning it 6-4.
The match was very heated, with the Spanish crowd heavily supporting their player. On top of that, the umpire of the match made a few questionable calls, which angered both teams. In the third set, Rune served for the match at 5-3 and even had a match point, but he failed to serve out the match, ultimately losing 1-6, 6-4, 6-7(3).
After the match, he shook hands with his opponent, Spain's team captain David Ferrer, and his team captain Frederik Nielsen, but as he reached out to shake the umpire's hand, Rune quickly pulled it back, refusing to shake hands with the umpire.
Holger Rune hits out at Spanish crowd after Davis Cup battle
After the match, Rune spoke to Danish journalist Nicholas Albek (per SpilXperten) about the Spanish crowd, which he thought was disrespectful during his match against Martinez.
"I just thought that there’s a difference between Danish and Spanish manners. When we played against Serbia, the atmosphere was also absolutely amazing, but there was clearly more respect. There’s a bit of a difference in upbringing. There were some things today that were a bit unsportsmanlike, but I’ve experienced worse. That wasn’t what decided the match."
Rune was also asked about not shaking the umpire's hand. He explained that, based on the umpire's performance, he didn't think he deserved a handshake after the match.
"He doesn’t deserve that. It’s pretty clear with so many mistakes. I don’t think it was very good work. So I don’t think he deserved it."
Rune's Denmark ultimately lost the tie. Elmer Moeller couldn't come up with another impressive win, as Pablo Carreno Busta beat him 6-2, 6-3 to turn the score of the tie around from 0-2 to 3-2. Therefore, Spain will play in the Final 8 of the 2025 Davis Cup.
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