After his breakthrough on the Tour last year, Holger Rune is relishing the prospect of fulfilling another childhood dream of his by competing at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The 19-year-old has climbed more than 90 places in the world rankings since January 2022 and is currently at a career-high of ninth in the world. Last season he won three Tour titles with the most prestigious of those being at the Paris Masters where he defeated five top-10 players in a row, including Novak Djokovic in the final. At the French Open, he achieved his best run in a Grand Slam so far by reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Casper Ruud.
Paris is a place that has brought good fortune to Rune who is currently coached by Patrick Mouratoglou and Lars Christensen. The Dane will be hoping to achieve more success in the city next summer when it hosts the Olympics. Roland Garros, which is the venue of the French Open, will be staging the Olympic tennis event.
“It is [a big goal of mine]. I am super excited for it,” Tennis 365 quoted Rune as telling The Tennis Weekly Podcast about the Olympics.
“It’s going to be next year, 2024 in Paris. I always play great in Paris and I am excited for it. It’s a great event.
“As a kid, I’ve been dreaming about it as well, so it will soon be a reality.”
Rune will be aiming to do something compatriot Caroline Wozniacki was unable to do during her career and win a medal at the Games. In Olympic history, Denmark has only won one medal in tennis, which was more than 100 years ago. Sofie Castenschiold won silver in 1912 when the tournament was held indoors. Rune is set to become the first man from his country to participate in the singles tournament since Kenneth Carlsen in 1996.
Looking at his game in general, Rune admits there is still room for improvement when it comes to playing on the grass but he is confident he can become just as good on the surface compared to others. Wimbledon is the only major event where he is yet to win a Grand Slam main draw match after losing in the first round last year to Marcos Giron.
“I think hard court and clay [are my best surfaces],” he said. “I still have to get some more experience on grass, but I feel like my game, the aggressive game style I have is good for grass and I move well.
“I just have to practice more on it and get used to it. And I think I can be as good as I am on hard court and clay.”
So far this season Rune has compiled a win-loss record of 5-3 after playing three tournaments. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and most recently the semi-finals in Montpellier. This week he is participating in Rotterdam where he is the fourth seed.
