"Passionate from the very beginning" - Holger Rune's long-time coach shares extraordinary details about teenager's work ethic

Holger Rune ascended to incredible heights during the 2022 season. The teenager’s long-time coach Lars Christensen recently spilled details about his extraordinary work ethic that set him apart from the rest from a very young age.

Christensen, who has been coaching Rune since he was seven-years-old, revealed that the 19-year-old Dane has always had the drive to do his best.

“That’s definitely natural for him. (His drive) was (one of) the first things, you know, I noticed when I started working with him when he was seven-years-old,” Christensen noted during an appearance on the ATP Tennis Radio podcast.

Lars Christensen further narrated that Holger Rune was prompt and dedicated to his training routines from the very beginning and was always one step ahead of his peers when it came to executing newly learned techniques perfectly.

“At that time, I would have like a group of small kids coming in for two or three sessions a week. Normally on Monday, I would go and introduce new things like and then, on Wednesday, I would work on it again, and then on Friday I would expect most kids to be able to do it more or less perfect,” he continued.

“But (with Holger Rune), every time I introduced something on Monday, he would do it perfect on Wednesday. And he was just so much into it, so I knew,” Christensen added.

“I asked his mother what was going on, you know, and she told (that) every time he came home, he would stand in front of the mirror, and would just repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat (what was taught). He was so passionate about it from the very beginning,” the Danish coach recalled.

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Holger Rune proclaimed as the ATP Newcomer of the Year

Holger Rune won his first Masters title in Paris

Holger Rune’s impressive run in 2022 was well-recognized by his colleagues as the 19-year-old was awarded the ATP Newcomer of the Year.

The Dane, who started the season ranked just outside the top-100 at No. 103, achieved various milestones throughout the year, which saw him get a taste of the top-10 as he reached a career-high ranking of World No. 10.

Currently ranked World No. 11, Holger Rune lifted his maiden ATP title in Munich, which was followed by a quarterfinals showing at the French Open. The teenager further collected the title in Stockholm and scored the most important victory of his career as he outclassed defending champion Novak Djokovic to lift his first Masters 1000 trophy at the Paris Masters.

“I’m super happy that I’ve been awarded with Newcomer of the Year, this means a lot,” Rune said about receiving the accolade.

“I’ve worked very hard the whole year to do as good as possible, and it’s really nice to see that my colleagues (voted for) me, so it means a lot. I just can’t wait for 2023, and it’s going to be hopefully another great year,” he added.