Patrick Mouratoglou joins coaching team of Danish ATP star Holger Rune

Renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has announced that he will be working with rising Danish ATP star Holger Rune while Simona Halep is sidelined.

Mouratoglou, who worked with Serena Williams for a decade, accepted Halep's coaching offer in April. After the US Open, Halep underwent nose surgery and subsequently chose to end her 2022 season.

Although Halep is sidelined, she gave Mouratoglou the green light to seek another coaching opportunity, and the 52-year old Frenchman took to Instagram to release an official statement.

"The day I met Holger at the @mouratoglou_tennis_academy he was only 13, and we quickly formed a special bond. While @simonahalep is taking time to recover and is away from the game, she encouraged me to seek a new collaboration.

"Today, I’m pleased to announce that I will officially be joining the Team of @holgerrune. Together, we’ll compete in 4 tournaments and prepare in the winter season for 2023. I’m really excited to start working with Holger.

"He has a great team with his mother and Lars, who he has been with since he started playing. These kinds of relationships are rare and precious. I am honored to be apart of it and my goal is to assist them in order to help Holger reach his goals."

Rune first met Mouratoglou six years ago, and the 19-year old stated he's looking forward to being coached by "one of the best tennis coaches" out there.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to work with one of the best tennis coaches of the year," said the World No.27. "At the level that we’re at right now and even if it’s only for a few months, we did not hesitate to take this chance to work with Patrick, in order to make the next step."

Rune and Mouratoglou will debut as a player/coach duo next week at the Stockholm Open.