Holger Rune returns to competitive tennis after nearly a year out in Davis Cup tie

Return after a serious injury

The 23-year-old Dane will play his first official match since October 2025. According to Yardbarker, the injury – a complete Achilles tendon rupture – occurred during the semi-final of the Stockholm Open against Ugo Humbert, requiring around 9–12 months to heal fully.

Home Davis Cup tie

On Friday and Saturday in Hillerød, Denmark face Bulgaria in a Davis Cup qualifier. Rune opens against Bulgaria's Ilyan Radulov, and is then scheduled to face former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday. Fellow Dane Elmer Møller will meet the same two opponents in reverse order. Sources differ on Rune's current world ranking: TNT Sports puts him at No. 114, while Yardbarker states he is ranked 144th.

Decision to skip the US Open

Rune said that in practice ahead of the season's final Grand Slam he beat world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in a practice set, but decided against travelling to New York because he wasn't confident he could last five sets, and he only wanted to compete if he believed he could win the whole tournament. TNT Sports adds that a knee issue further delayed his comeback.

Looking ahead

Rune reached a career-high No. 4 in the world in 2023 and has three Grand Slam quarter-final appearances to his name. This year, before the injury, he beat Alcaraz in the Barcelona Open final, lost the Indian Wells Masters final to Jack Draper, and was in contention for the title in Stockholm. He had planned an earlier comeback on clay at the Hamburg Open ahead of the French Open, but that was pushed back to the autumn hardcourt swing.

Speaking to Danish outlet Jyllands-Posten, Rune admitted feeling nervous ahead of the match: "There are a lot of butterflies in my stomach because it's been so long since I've had to perform in front of an audience." He describes this year as a "test year" on the way back to the 2027 Australian Open.