Holger Rune
experienced a tense moment during his latest match in the Ultimate Tennis
Showdown against Aleksander Bublik when he became visibly upset during a
mid-match interview. The Danish player made it clear that he did not like the
format of the tournament. Fans reacted on social media to the world No. 8's
perceived bad attitude.
The
exhibition tournament was created by Alex Popyrin (entrepreneur and father of
tennis player Alexei Popyrin) and Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of
Serena Williams, Simona Halep, and Holger Rune himself, among others. The UTS
takes place at different times during the year, changing its location; in this
instance, it is in London.
Rune did
not appreciate the format, divided into quarters by time (similar to
basketball), and expressed his discontent during the interview: "I don't
enjoy it," Rune said. "It is still tennis but it's weird." When
the interviewer continued to inquire about why he didn't like the format, Rune
refused to continue the interview and removed his headphones: "That's a
stupid question," he said.
Despite the
tense moment, Rune secured a victory with a score of 15-11, 12-18, 12-19,
15-14, 2-1. However, the incident took center stage after the match, with fans
reacting on social media after the video of the moment circulated.
“Wait why
is he acting like an angsty teen it’s literally an exhibition that u signed up
for knowing the format & getting thousands from plz now,”
"Crazy how he and alcaraz are the same age but he acts like a 15 year old. you’ll never catch carlitos being so disrespectful lol he needs to grow up"
"Ohh Holger is not beating spoiled brat allegations anytime soon 😭😂...but pls this whole uts format is so wierd"