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Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune had to wait a while before they received the 2025 Barcelona Open runner-up and winner's trophies, respectively. The wait stemmed from a four-song live musical act spearheaded by a male-female singing duo. This prompted several tennis fans to deliver harsh reactions, as they wondered why such an act was given the go-ahead.
Rune defeated Alcaraz 7-6(6), 6-2 in the final of the ATP 500-level claycourt event. The Dane narrowly edged the first set, but went on to ruthlessly capitalize on a thigh injury sustained by the Spaniard early on in the second. After the conclusion of the high-octane encounter, both Rune and Alcaraz had to wait for their respective trophies as the court was temporarily turned into a stage for live music.
The male-female duo performed the songs "You've Got A Friend", "I Will Survive", "Happy" and "Who Wants To Live Forever". As the songs were being performed, Holger Rune, sitting on his courtside chair, looked rather impatient to lift the Barcelona Open men's singles trophy.
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Most tennis fans on Instagram were livid with the musical performance, suggesting that it created an unnecessary delay in Rune and Carlos Alcaraz getting their hands on their hard-earned trophies. They also empathized with the Spaniard, particularly due to the fact that he was injured at the time.
"Completely unnecessary and cringe. The players had to wait for all this cheap show whilst Alcaraz probably was injured. Who approved this!?" one fan questioned.
"Holger is not having it 😂😂 he didn’t sign up for this nonsense," commented another.
"Poor taste for athletes to wait through this instead of being able to do their cool down/recovery routines 😢," another chimed in.
Here are some more reactions from fans to the music-driven delay in the 2025 Barcelona Open's men's singles trophy ceremony:
"Oh my gosh, I had no idea there was going to be a full on concert before the trophy ceremony and what the heck with the itty-bitty tiny trophy for second place in the massive, gigantic one for first! 🥴," wrote one fan.
"“May I please have my trophy and check so that I can leave now?” 😬," another added, imagining what Rune was thinking during the live musical act.
"This is absolutely revolting 😂," weighed in yet another fan.
When the musical act ended, it was Carlos Alcaraz who stepped up to deliver his speech first as the runner-up. While delivering it, the Spaniard had heartwarming words about the evolution of his and Holger Rune's intertwined tennis journeys.
"Time flies" - Carlos Alcaraz's heartfelt message to Holger Rune after pair's Barcelona Open 2025 final clash
Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune have known each other since they were 12-year-olds. While the Spaniard has achieved much more success on the ATP Tour compared to the Dane, both are widely regarded as young players who will go on to shape men's tennis' future.
After Rune won the 2025 Barcelona Open title to take his ATP Tour-level title haul to five, Alcaraz candidly told his rival:
"Congratulations Holger on an amazing week. Coming from Monte-Carlo, (where) you had to retire. Coming here and showing a great effort to make the people enjoy watching tennis, I appreciate that. We’ve been seeing each other since (we were) 12 years old. Time flies. I’m really happy to see us in this position, how far we’ve (come). Keep going."
Holger Rune's title triumph in Barcelona has resulted in the Dane breaking back into the top 10 of the ATP Tour's singles rankings. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz, who became the World No. 2 following his title-winning run at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters, is back down to third position.
Alexander Zverev, who recently clinched the Bavarian International Tennis Championships title, has reclaimed the No. 2 spot from the Spaniard.
