Too little time for Holger Rune
Boris Becker quits coaching job after four months
That was a short interlude. After just four months, Boris Becker ended his collaboration with Holger Rune. At the Australian Open in Melbourne last month, Becker had to watch on TV the early exit of his former protégé.
Boris Becker has ended his collaboration with young Danish tennis star Holger Rune after less than four months. He realized that as a coach he would have to be “much more available to the 20-year-old than I can. Due to professional and private commitments, I cannot give Holger what he needs,” Becker wrote on X.
Rune had already failed in the second round of the Australian Open – without the direct support of Becker. Instead, the former Wimbledon winner was working from Germany for the TV broadcaster Eurosport as an expert and co-commentator. But he said later that he had communicated with Rune every day. In Melbourne, Rune was coached by long-time Roger Federer coach Severin Lüthi, with whom the Dane has since parted ways.
Greatest successes with Djokovic
Becker returned to coaching in October after almost seven years. “I wish Holger all the best and will always be his biggest fan. I have really enjoyed this journey together,” Becker continued. Rune was ranked sixth in the world at the start of Becker's career, and is currently number seven.
At the beginning of his collaboration with the Dane, Becker was almost euphoric. Rune, Becker said, was for him “a rough diamond that needs polishing”. He was also impressed by the 20-year-old's emotional outbursts. “That's allowed. The coach and the team form an oasis in which the player has to let it out – if he then apologizes and concentrates on his work again. I did the same thing back then as a professional,” Becker said at the time.
As coach of Grand Slam record champion Novak Djokovic, Becker celebrated numerous successes between 2013 and 2016 and led the Serb back to the top of the ATP rankings. He then worked for the German Tennis Association.
