Rune to Ubitennis: "Tendons Heal Slowly"

Holger Rune is back on court after eleven months and told the story of his recovery to Ubitennis, in an exclusive interview by Fabio Barera published on September 21, 2026. On his rehab from the ruptured Achilles tendon, the Dane summed it up in one line:

"muscles heal fast, tendons very slowly".

The injury dates back to October 18, 2025, the Stockholm Open semifinal against Ugo Humbert: Rune was up a set when he felt the tendon give way and retired. Surgery followed a few days later.

"I didn't think the situation was that serious", he told Ubitennis.

The comeback came in the Davis Cup, in World Group I at the Royal Stage in Hillerød. On Friday, September 18, he beat Iliyan Radulov 6-3, 6-3; on Saturday the 19th he got past Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). A former world No. 4, Rune is now outside the top 100. The schedule he laid out for Barera starts again in Tokyo, his first ATP tournament since the layoff, and continues through Shanghai, Basel, Paris and Stockholm, before preparation for the Australian Open.

In August he had trained with Carlos Alcaraz in Murcia, and there he realised he was ready to play: the decision was still to skip the US Open and restart at the Davis Cup. On who has ruled the tour during his absence, Rune believes that "we haven't seen players as consistent at the top as Carlos, Jannik and Zverev", and adds that he doesn't see them as "any more or less vulnerable than before my injury".

Eleven months out also left him with a simpler rule, the one he handed to Ubitennis to close things out:

"Don't waste time on bulls**t and enjoy the day".