Beginner’s Guide: Buoyed by Rafa practice, inspired Holger Rune takes US Open by storm

WATCH: Rune scored the biggest win of his career at Roland Garros en route to the quarterfinals.

NEW YORK—For Holger Rune, the US Open is 14 days of Christmas.

“I would hope to have this energy every week,” the 19-year-old said with a smile. “I really like it here.”

Rune enjoys a deep, borderline spiritual connection to the final major tournament of the season: playing without fans throughout last year’s qualifying event, the teenager played primetime tennis in front of ghosts of Grand Slams past.

“I was just super pumped to have made my first qualifying at a Grand Slam," he recalled of his big reaction after a three-set victory over Mats Moraing. “I had 5-3 when the rain came, and I had to come back after to serve out the match. I played a pretty perfect game to qualify.”

His reward? A main-draw debut against then-world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, a story the teenager never gets tired of telling.

“I saw Novak was drawn to play a qualifier so I was sort of hoping and thinking, ‘Maybe,’ and then I just randomly saw an Instagram message telling me he was my first-round opponent. I told them, ‘You can’t be serious,’ but then I checked, and it was true.”

Rune returns to New York ranked among the Top 32 seeds and, after a walkover into the third round from John Isner, looks ready to capitalize on a spring surge that saw him reach his first major quarterfinal in Paris.

The Basics

There has long been something pre-ordained about Rune’s ascent towards the top of men’s tennis, starting with his run to 2019 the junior Roland Garros title and subsequent draft to serve as a hitting partner during the ATP Finals.

“It’s been an unbelievable experience for me to play with the top players,” he said at the time. “To get information from Roger, Rafa and all the top guys has been awesome.”

Rune continues to draw inspiration from the game’s legends, practicing with the likes of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in the lead-up to this year’s US Open.

“It’s tough and fun because it’s very high intensity and Rafa’s playing with a lot of spin and aggression in his shots,” he told me after his first-round win over Peter Gojowczyk. “But it’s a good challenge, and you really have to be quick on your feet because he practices incredibly fast and hits the ball quite hard. I give my all when I practice with him, which I think he likes.

“He’s such a nice guy and really polite, and humble. If I miss a ball, he’s going to run for it anyway. I actually wasn’t even nervous to practice with him; of course, I wanted to play well but he’s such a great champion and I can really see why. He gives every practice full intensity, and whether he plays good or bad, he’s giving it his all.”

The Latest

Rune boasts a healthy amount of his own passion, the likes of which helped him through a breakout swing on European red clay. From winning his first title in Munich, he conquered prior physical struggles in the best-of-five format to roll through the first week of Roland Garros, culminating with a four-set victory against 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“It obviously gave me a lot of confidence and belief that I could compete on this level and also beat the big guys,” he said of the result back in Washington, D.C. “I’ve shown that a couple of times and this title just gave me a huge boost to someday win the big titles.”

His run ended at the hands of eventual runner-up Casper Ruud and triggered a seven-match losing streak that ended at the Citi Open. Rune looks back on a largely cruel summer as another opportunity to grow.

Last year I had some incredible memories playing against Novak on center court, in front of so many fans. It was the same today, with a lot of the same guys who were here last year cheering for me. It’s such a great feeling, especially when you’re struggling at the end of a match. It’s nice to know you have the crowd behind you. Holger Rune

“The ranking changed a lot after that, so it was kind of like I was ‘supposed’ to win every match because all the sudden I’m ranked higher than my opponents. I was not really used to that because I was coming from the lower rankings, but it’s a new step. I think everyone has to go through this and if you want to go up—as I want to—you’ve got to be able to manage a lot of things.”

After reuniting with Tsitsipas for a successful week of men’s doubles in Cincinnati, Rune earned redemption from his Djokovic defeat with a first main-draw win in Flushing Meadows. The walkover from Isner puts him into the third round of a Slam for only the second time in his young career.

“Last year I had some incredible memories playing against Novak on center court, in front of so many fans. It was the same today, with a lot of the same guys who were here last year cheering for me. It’s such a great feeling, especially when you’re struggling at the end of a match. It’s nice to know you have the crowd behind you.”

Why It Matters

If athletes exist on a spectrum that ranges from “happy to be here” to “fiercely competitive,” Rune somehow occupies both extremes and, like triumph and adversity, treats both the same.

From describing a detailed game plan for his then-schedued match against Isner, he was suddenly all teenager when preaching the virtues of playing in the Big Apple.

"It’s amazing; I really like it," Rune gushed of Manhattan. "It’s nice to stay in the city so you can actually see it a little bit. It’s not very often that you get to see the city you’re playing in because you’re either playing just outside or you just don’t have the time. But at a Grand Slam, you have one day to rest, so you can take that time to go out, eat dinner. I love it!"

Compartmentalization: it's a skill that should only continue serving him well in his rise up the rankings.