Holger Rune’s former coach explains why his Achilles injury may be ‘the best thing’ that could have happened to him

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Holger Rune’s season came to a heartbreaking end at the Stockholm Open when suffering an Achilles injury.

Rune was brought to tears when he was forced to retire from his semifinal clash with Ugo Humbert at the ATP 250 event, after which he was helped off court by a physio.

The Dane later confirmed in a post on social media that he had injured his Achilles, revealing it would be ‘a while’ before he stepped back on court again.

Days after, Rune underwent surgery and updated fans on Instagram, stating the operation went well.

Several big names in tennis have offered words of support and advice to the world number 10, with Boris Becker sending a message urging him to be patient with the process.

Now, Rune‘s former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, has had his say and holds a completely different perspective on the situation.

Patrick Mouratoglou provides perspective on Holger Rune’s injury

In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “This is the worst thing that can happen to a professional player.

“But maybe in two years, Holger might think that’s the best thing that happened to me. I always say that in the most difficult moments, that’s where the most interesting things happen most of the time.

“He cannot see it now, but in a few weeks after his surgery and his rehab, he is going to open probably to other things that he doesn’t have the time to do the rest of the time because he’s fully into his tennis.

“He’s really driven by tennis; he’s really obsessed with tennis in a good way. So he doesn’t have much time to think, to study, to discover other things. So I think it can be a great moment to reflect.

“When the players are in a difficult time, I know their mindset can change a little bit, and that’s the moment that you can make some changes that will affect their career immensely.

“I lived it myself in the very difficult moments, that’s where I make the biggest changes for me.“

Holger Rune’s Masters triumph with Patrick Mouratoglou as coach

Mouratoglou knows Rune well, having guided him to a successful start to his career on the ATP Tour.

With the Frenchman in his corner, Rune clinched a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2022 Paris Masters.

Aged just 19 at the time, Rune earned victories over Stan Wawrinka, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime en route to the final that year.

In the championship match, he defeated Novak Djokovic to hoist the trophy, becoming the youngest winner of the tournament since Becker in 1986.

The two briefly parted ways in 2023, and reunited in February 2024, before permanently ending their player-coach relationship in July later that year.