Upset brewing? ☕ Roberto Carballes Baena is a set away from defeating Holger Rune on Court 5.
Holger Rune's mother commented that there are "ego clashes" between coaches Patrick Mouratoglou and Lars Christensen following his exit at the US Open.
Rune's recent form has not been positive for the world No. 4. After reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, he suffered first-round losses at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open (although in the last one, he retired when trailing 4-6, 0-2).
This time, he endured his fourth consecutive defeat, falling in the opening round of the US Open with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 against Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena.
Rune's coaching team includes Patrick Mouratoglou, who serves as the main coach for Simona Halep. While the former world No. 1 remains suspended due to a doping case, the Frenchman is working with Rune.
Mouratoglou shares coaching responsibilities with Lars Christensen, who has been coaching the Danish player since he was six years old. Together, they collaborated to help Rune secure his first Masters 1000 title at the 2022 Paris Open.
Following the recent string of poor results, Rune's mother, Aneke, hinted that perhaps not everything is well within her son's coaching team:
“I don't know what will happen with the coaching situation now. It's a bit strange. The team that worked at the end of the year (2022) suddenly didn't work in Australia,” she said in an interview with Ekstra Bladet.
“There were ego clashes between the coaches. The team that worked in the clay season suddenly doesn't work now. Ego clash again? I don't know,” Aneke Rune said.
“The fact is that it is Holger who pays the price for it every time, and that cannot be right,” Aneke added.
The young star's mother expressed her preference for Rune's former coach, Lars Christensen, and spoke about her hope for her son's return to good results.
“I would encourage Holger and Lars to get back into work clothes together when he has finished helping Clara in the US Open,” she said.
“The structured way of working, I think, works for Holger. It may not be terribly sexy, but it has proven extremely effective since Holger was little. And a structure he knows and finds security in is important. So I would think that is what he should stick to,” she concluded.
Upset brewing? ☕ Roberto Carballes Baena is a set away from defeating Holger Rune on Court 5.