'I Have Learned My Lessons': Rune Not Disheartened By Struggles After Initial Breakthrough
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Holger Rune remained positive also after struggling for a certain part of his tennis career. He spoke about it after his most recent win in Indian Wells.
Rune recorded his first big result already in 2022. He won the Paris Masters, and soon after his win, talks about the "new Big Three" on the ATP Tour started. Along with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, Rune seemed to be primed for great success.
Since then, however, Alcaraz has won three majors (he won the US Open before Rune's Paris Masters win), and Sinner has won three majors as well. Rune, on the other hand, managed to add only one more title to his collection. It came in Munich in 2023.
It would be easy to become demotivated by his struggles in recent years, but that's not how the young Dane approaches his tennis career. Rune started working even harder, and that work has been paying off recently, as he reached the 2025 Indian Wells Open quarter-finals.
He stopped Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round, even though the Greek player was on a seven-match winning streak. Speaking about his win after the match, Rune seemed to be very happy.
"I think a lot of good things today. I think my tweener was not bad (smiling). No, but I think I was returning well, and obviously Stefanos and I, we've played each other and practiced with each other a bunch of times, so we know each other's game very well."
The 21-year-old Danish player was then also asked about his recent struggles. At one point, he was even in the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings, and he spent many weeks inside of the Top 10.
Now, however, he's ranked outside of the Top 10, and only a title in Indian Wells would guarantee him a spot back in the Top 10. But despite struggling, Rune has a very positive outlook. He knows that while he lost more matches than he would like to, he has also learned along the way, which is important for his tennis career.
"I have learned my lessons. Things don't happen without a reason. I think every player deserves to be where they are, so I deserve to be at my ranking. Whoever is at their ranking deserves it because it's about making results, but at the same time improving your game and having stability."
"I think what I have done much better in this tournament so far is my mentality. I have been more consistent there. This also results in better results and a more consistent game, I would say. Because I don't believe I have become the worse player in the last two years."
"I actually think the opposite. I think I have become a better all-around player. Mentally I feel good right now. I feel very composed on the court, and I'm just going day by day."
