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Boris Becker's split with Holger Rune after just three months into their partnership has sent shockwaves in the tennis fraternity.
The German legend joined forces with Rune in October last year and the young Dane saw an immediate improvement in form with Becker by his side in the second half of the season.
A quarterfinal finish at the Paris Masters ensured that Rune finished the season ranked World No. 8, which in turn guaranteed him a debut seat at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. Rune added another blockbuster name to his coaching box in the form of Severin Luthi, Roger Federer's former coach, in December.
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On Tuesday, February 6, Becker announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he was stepping down as Rune's coach.
"I would like to inform you that I will step down as the head coach of Holger Rune with immediate effect. We started this partnership with the initial goal to reach the ATP Finals end of last year but moving forward I realised that in order for this to be successful, I would need to be available for Holger much more than I can. Due to professional and private responsibilities, I can’t give Holger what he needs now. I wish him only the very best and I’m always going to be his n.1 fan. I truly appreciated this journey together. BB"
Fans on social media expressed their disappointment at the news and criticized Rune for the constant changes to his coaching team.
"Rune needs to get a grip, 4 coaches have left his team in 6 months," wrote a fan on X.
Another fan humorously drew parallels to Emma Raducanu, another player who has seen a carousel of coaching changes.
"The guy goes through coaches faster than Raducanu"
"Coaching Holger seems to be one helluva task. 3 coaches within a year," wrote another.
Here are a few more reactions to Becker's departure:
The Dane began the new season on a high by reaching the finals at the Brisbane International, ultimately losing the title clash to Grigor Dimitrov. Seeded eighth in Melbourne, he suffered a shock loss in the second round of the Australian Open to French youngster Arthur Cazaux.
Rune also reached the semifinal at the Open Sud De France last week, but his participation in the tournament was cut short due to an injury during his match against Borna Coric.
Holger Rune parted ways with Severin Luthi last week
Holger Rune parted ways with Severin Luthi last week after less than two months together. They began their partnership during the offseason in December 2023.
He was photographed in Rune's box during the Australian Open, but their partnership has already come to an end as per his mother and manager Aneke Rune.
“I just want to inform you that from now on Holger will only have Boris and Kenneth in his coaching staff,” she said.
Aneke added that Luthi couldn't commit as much time to Rune as they had hoped.
“Don't want to make a big deal out of it, but the timing with Severin was clearly not right. It would be too few weeks for Severin to be able to cover for the continuity that Holger needs," she concluded.
