Holger Rune has hinted that he is not ruling out the prospect of missing tournaments in the coming weeks to deal with a back problem that has been bothering him since the clay swing.
The Dane has enjoyed a strong first half of the season where he reached two Masters 1000 finals, claimed an ATP 250 title in Germany and reached the last eight of two major events. However, since his quarter-final loss to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, he hasn’t won a match since. He is currently on a seven-match losing streak with his latest loss being to Thiago Monteiro on Friday during his country’s Davis Cup tie with Brazil.
Trying to pinpoint a reason for his recent lull in results, the 19-year-old says he has been affected by a back issue that he developed a few weeks ago.
“During the clay season, there was a pinched nerve at L5 (the fifth lumbar vertebra in the spine), so it’s not so good. I know it can be fixed and I get to spend my time fixing it now,” Rune told TV2.
“I can feel that I can’t play at the level I want, even if I want to and am willing to give 100 percent, I can’t get the same speed in the serve and get the free points I want.” He added.
In a separate interview on Saturday, Rune’s mother and manager Aneke said her son has made adjustments to his service to help him cope with the back problem. He is currently coached by Lars Christensen after opting to end his collaboration with Patrick Mouratoglou following the US Open. Although he is still working with some members of Mouratoglou’s academy.
It is the latest loss to Montiero that has driven the tennis star to seek a permanent solution to his injury. He is set to undergo a medical test on Monday. Rune is currently committed to playing his schedule as planned. However, he admits that it is possible that he could miss some tournaments with his next event being the Laver Cup which begins in less than a week.
“It was an eye-opener in relation to the fact that I have to get control of my physique now. I have to get my back under control so I can serve properly again. When I come back, I’ll be ready again. I’m not coming back halfway.” He stated.
“The plan is to get it fixed as soon as possible – but so that it is fixed 100 percent, take whatever time it takes.”
Rune is currently ranked fourth in the ATP Pepperstone rankings.
