Two of the world’s top players have urged Holger Rune to take his time on the Tour following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with injury.
The 23-year-old returned to competitive tennis at the Davis Cup in September after spending almost a year away from the Tour due to a serious Achilles injury that required surgery. Whilst playing at the Stockholm Open in October 2025, he suffered a rupture of his proximal left Achilles tendon.
Rune made a triumphant return to action, winning both of his matches for Denmark in their tie with Bulgaria, including a win over Grigor Dimitrov. However, he then suffered a disappointing first round loss at the Japan Open, where he was comprehensively beaten 6-3, 6-1 by Kyrian Jacquet. Speaking about his performance afterwards, Rune said ‘everything froze’ on court, but he is physically healthy.
Then at this week’s Shanghai Masters, Rune suffered another first round loss on Wednesday to Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, who came back from a set down to win 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.
“A lot of things were much better in this game than in the previous one, so I’m clearly on the right track. I continue to work. Step by step,” wrote Rune on X afterwards.
One of those keeping an eye on Rune’s recovery in recent months has been Novak Djokovic, who won the China Open on Sunday. The two have met six times on the Tour, with Djokovic winning four of those meetings.
“I’ve been keeping track of his return. I was very glad that he was able to come back and make his comeback at the Davis Cup in his country, so that was very nice,” Djokovic said during his pre-tournament press conference at the Shanghai Masters.
“I saw that last night he had a tough battle and a tough loss (against Altmaier). But it will take some time.
“His injury is one of the worst injuries that you can have. It took him away for almost a year. Match play is completely different from any practice sets or practice competition you get.
“He just needs to get more matches going, and I hope that he is going to find his best game very soon.”
Carlos Alcaraz echoed Djokovic’s comments by saying Rune’s return from injury might be slow due to the nature of the issue he suffered. The Spaniard has also struggled with injuries this season, with a wrist problem keeping him out of action between April and September. Last Sunday, he won his first title since returning at the Japan Open.
“Movement in tennis, I would say it’s almost everything. I think his (Rune’s) style is about the movement, to move well on court and cover the court as much as he can,” Alcaraz explained during his press conference.
“He might lose some matches right now, but personally I’m really happy to see him back on court. He came to Murcia to practice with me for one week. Then I saw him playing good. It is about getting into matches and getting into the rhythm of competition, which is really, really important.
“He has to be patient because it’s going to be a slow process, but he’s going to get to the point he wants to get.”
As Rune exits Shanghai, his two peers are preparing for their opening matches. Djokovic starts against Hubert Hurkacz. Meanwhile, Alcaraz will play Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
