Holger Rune will kick off the 2024 season at the ATP 250 Brisbane International, scheduled to take place between December 31 and January 7. World No. 8 will be without his coaching duo, Boris Becker and Severin Luthi (formerly one of Roger Federer's coaches).
The absence of the coaches was confirmed by Denmark’s TV2 Sport, which has close ties to the player's environment. Rune, due to the absence of Becker and Luthi, has had to enlist a temporary coach: Kenneth Carlsen, a tennis expert for TV2 Sport, who will work with Rune in Brisbane. This partnership will be exclusively during the first weeks of January in the inaugural tournament of the year.
It has been confirmed that tennis expert Kenneth Carlsen will be Holger Rune's coach in the first week of 2024 for Brisbane. #BrisbaneTennis Luthi and Becker will take over after for the Australian Open when they arrive in Melbourne on the 8th of January.
Kenneth Carlsen er med i boksen, når Holger Rune åbner ‘24-sæsonen i Brisbane. Når danskeren rejser til Melbourne træder den nye træner Severin Lüthi til. Mere her👇 sport.tv2.dk/tennis/2023-12…
As detailed in the Danish television report, Swiss coach Severin Luthi will arrive in Australia on January 8, the day when he will begin taking charge of Rune's preparation for the Australian Open, which runs from January 14 to January 28. During those days, he also plans to participate in the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament between January 10 and 12, alongside players like Jannik Sinner, Stan Wawrinka, and Dominic Thiem, among others.
As for Boris Becker, he reportedly requested an extended leave to travel to Santo Tomé and Príncipe in Central Africa, the home country of his girlfriend. The former world No. 1 will also arrive from January 8 onwards to fine-tune the last details before the first Grand Slam of the year.
The Danish tennis player will be the top seed at the ATP 250, which boasts a star-studded lineup with seven players within the top 30, something unusual for this category. Alongside Rune (No. 8), the main favorites include Grigor Dimitrov (No. 14), Ben Shelton (No. 17), and Ugo Humbert (No. 20).
However, the major attraction of the tournament on the men's side will be the presence of the 22-times Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, who will finally make his return to competition after nearly a year out due to injury.
