(VIDEO) Holger Rune stepping up recovery process with training intensity ramped up ahead of ATP Tour return in Hamburg

The return of Holger Rune to the tennis court is edging closer and closer. The Dane has been sidelined for a very long time, but after an intense recovery period her has emerged a lot sooner than expected as he joins the field for the Hamburg Open.

Ahead of his injury, Rune was not at his imperious best on court. While he did reach the Indian Wells final and win the Barcelona Open title against Carlos Alcaraz, he was not performing at his highest levels. He looked to change his fortunes at the Stockholm Open when disaster struck. In his semi-final clash against Ugo Humbert, he was in pole position to reach another ATP final ahead of him rupturing his achilles tendon on court.

It would be the worst possible outcome for the 23-year-old. It was likely that he would be out of tennis for a very long time. With an injury as serious as this one, many wrote his participation off on the ATP Tour until the 2026 US Open at the earliest, predicting 9-12 months absence.

However, Rune has defied the odds and has comeback in blistering time. While injury stricken, he has spent a lot of time working on himself and his body as he looks to get back into better shape physically and mentally than beforehand.

He was soon back on the court, training in the warm climate of the Middle East as he carefully took all the steps needed to crucially avoid anymore damage but also keep him relatively sharp. While his match sharpness may need some time to get back to its peak, just getting out onto the court would be a huge win for Rune, and that seems to be just around the corner.

Rune has been keeping his loyal followers very much up to date with his progress away from the action, regularly posting videos on his social media with the improvement visible after each one. From gym work to hitting the ball on court, he was plodding along at a rate faster than many expected.

With the Hamburg Open set to take place from May 17-23, there is only a couple of weeks before Rune makes his highly anticipated return to the court. He has been getting used to the clay, currently with scheduled training blocks over the next two weeks in the build up to the tournament in Germany ahead of Roland Garros. He posted a video on his Instagram story showing the high intensity training from the baseline.

There has been concern surrounding the faster than anticipated return. Daria Saville, a tennis player who suffered the same injury, was adamant that Rune should bide his time. "It will take between 9 months and a year before he can return to professional competition. Rune is a champion and he is eager to get back on court, but the road is still long and he must not rush, even if it's difficult."

Former British number one Greg Rusedski also sided with the air of caution. “From my point of view, it’s better to be safer, take more time," he previously said. "That’s where the coach and the team around the player have to say, ‘Ok, let’s talk to the doctor, let’s look at the physio, I don’t want you back until you’re 100% fit.’ If you can do that and convince the player, that’s a great job in coaching and physiotherapy."