Tennis star pulls out of French Open after bursting into tears on court with horror injury | Tennis | Sport

Holger Rune has delayed his return from a horror injury, pulling out of the upcoming Hamburg Open and French Open. The former world No. 4 ruptured his Achilles mid-match at the Stockholm Open last October, bursting into tears and admitting he heard a pop. Rune retired mid-match and needed help to leave the court.

The Danish star soon had surgery and had been targeting a return on the clay, just seven months after getting injured. It typically takes athletes at least nine months to return after tearing an Achilles tendon. But Rune has now postponed his comeback, withdrawing from the two clay-court events.

“Tough decision not to play the clay season, but the right one. Can’t wait to see you all on the grass. Thank you to everyone for your love and support throughout my rehab. See you in not too long,” he tweeted on Monday.

Organisers of the Hamburg Open, an ATP 500 clay-court event that begins next week, also confirmed his withdrawal via Instagram. “Take the time to recover, @holgerrune. Can’t wait to see you back doing what you do best soon,” their post read.

The 23-year-old shared this on his story and confirmed that he now hoped to return during the grass swing. “Tough decision, but the right one. Thank you for your support and love throughout my rehab. See you on the grass,” he wrote.

Rune has been documenting his recovery from surgery on social media. At the beginning of the month, he shared footage of himself training on the clay courts of the Monte Carlo Country Club.

However, according to Marca, the current world No. 40 suffered “an accident in his knee during an explosive training session last week”, which has forced him out of Hamburg and the French Open.

Earlier this year, Rune discussed his injury recovery with the ATP and revealed that he had spoken to an unnamed footballer who was back on the pitch less than five months after rupturing his own Achilles.

“We searched a lot. With Achilles injuries, most studies are on older people, and many don’t have surgery and recovery can be a year. But for athletes it’s different and quicker as we have the surgery. Surgery was the most natural thing for me to speed up the process in a healthy way,” the five-time title winner said.

“One football player reached out to me. He had the same injury and was back after four and a half months. There are strict guidelines and you can’t skip steps. I’m strong and young, so I believe I’ll recover quickly, but it takes hard work and smart work.”

Rune is now targeting a return on the grass, and the grass season begins on June 7 with ATP 250 events in Stuttgart and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. There are two ATP 500 tournaments the following week in London and Halle, and then more 250s in Mallorca and Eastbourne before Wimbledon gets underway.

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