Holger Rune's injury puts Olympic Games participation at risk

Holger Rune was injured at the ATP 500 Hamburg European Open while facing the 5th seed Arthur Fils. The world No. 15 had reached the quarter-finals but retired when the score was 4-6, 1-4 due to knee discomfort.

The Dane later acknowledged that he had been experiencing knee pain since his first-round match against Fabian Maroszan, where he won in straight sets.

After his withdrawal, Rune posted on social media that he is dealing with the injury but did not address his upcoming participation: “So sorry guys. My knee had caused problems since the incident in the first match. Yesterday was bad. Today I tried but it wasn’t good,” he said.

The former world No. 4 had expressed his desire earlier in the week to compete in the Olympics for a medal. In an interview with InsideSport, the 21-year-old player acknowledged that he feels capable of winning a medal: “I am very confident – I feel like I can do it,” he said.

“I believe in myself and I am sure there will be many Danish fans to support not only me but all the Danish athletes,” Holger Rune added. “I think we are going to do well, and we are not only good in tennis but in a lot of sports, so I am sure Denmark can get some medals. I’m going to focus on doing my job and bring some medals back to Denmark.”

For now, Rune remains in the men's singles draw and is expected to also play mixed doubles with former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who will be competing in her fourth Olympics, with her best result being the quarter-finals in London 2012.