Holger Rune appeared on the cusp of being one of the better players of the new tennis generation in 2022. He won three titles, and he reached as high a ranking as No. 4 in August 2023. The last three years haven't been nearly as kind, however.
In October 2025, Rune tore his right Achilles tendon at the Nordic Open. The injury required surgery, and the timeline for return is normally 9-12 months. Rune hoped to return in six, but he might have pushed himself a bit too hard and suffered a setback. He missed the French Open, and he recently withdrew from Wimbledon, too.
While the Dane suffered a dip in form well before his injury, his lack of being able to play has pushed his ranking outside the top 50. Meanwhile, he is watching players around his age begin to make a real impact on the ATP tour.
Holger Rune finds himself losing ATP ground to many other young players
That doesn't just include 23-year-old Carlos Alcaraz or 24-year-old Jannik Sinner, either. Some hoped that Rune would be the third part of the trio and help make for a new Big 3 in men's tennis. The Dane now seems nowhere close to making that happen, and in truth, maybe he never would have.
He has the skills to stay great, but not the consistency. Rune also comes across as extremely brash and sometimes disrespectful to his opponents during matches. He likely didn't make many fans because of his attitude, which verged on arrogance, during Netflix's Point Break series.
The truth is, Holger Rune hasn't earned that kind of brashness, and it doesn't help him win matches. He has five career titles, but only one since 2023. Since April 2024, he has ranked outside the top 10 every week except for nine, all of which came in the early summer of 2025, and never higher than No. 8.
Meanwhile, other players have greatly improved, appearing to be long-term fixtures in the top 10 in a way Rune hasn't been able to be. Jiri Lehecka, for instance, is having a career year at 24 years old, and could reach the top 10 over the summer and stay there.
American Learner Tien is just 20 years old and inside the top 20. His work ethic is elite, and while he lacks an overall game to be great on every surface, his drive to be successful might allow him to push past that.
Spaniard Rafael Jodar is excellent on clay already, and only 19 years old. He might find himself on hard courts soon and get inside the top 15 by the time he is 20.
Lehecka, Tien, and Jodar are just three players likely to stay well ahead of Holger Rune, even when the Dane comes back fully from injury. He needs to be more humble and rebuild his young career. Otherwise, he will always be the kind of player who might have been great for many years, but never was.
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