Holger Rune has cleared the last hurdle in his Achilles rehab and is training at full intensity with no restrictions, his mother Aneke Rune has told Danish tabloid BT.
“Holger has been training with some Danish players in Copenhagen recently, and now we’re back in Monaco, where he can practise against ATP Tour players,” she told BT.
“His Achilles tendon will not rupture again. He can now move completely freely on court, including lateral movement and wide footwork.”
The 23-year-old Dane has not played a competitive match since he tore the proximal part of his left Achilles tendon in the Stockholm Open semifinal against Ugo Humbert on 18 October 2025, retiring while leading 6-4, 2-2. Surgery followed the same week.
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“It’s gonna be a while before I can step on court again. It’s tough,” Rune said in the days after the operation.
“I had so much joy on court in Stockholm and it’s unbearable to think that I will not feel this energy for some time now.”
A scan cleared the last doubt
A scan by Danish orthopaedic surgeon Morten Boesen two weeks ago confirmed the tendon had healed fully, and Aneke Rune says the training load has climbed sharply since.
“We’ve gradually increased the intensity over the last few weeks. Although the sessions are adapted to protect him, he plays at full intensity and runs all over the court,” she told BT.
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“He’s a completely different Holger.”
The Rune camp had been widely quoted through the spring warning against a rushed timetable.
Aneke has been an outspoken critic of the ATP’s mandatory tournament model, blaming a packed calendar for the injury and arguing that players are not given time to recover during the season.
Cincinnati main draw on 13 August
Rune is not on the entry list in Canada, and the plan is to reappear at the Cincinnati Open, whose main draw begins on 13 August, before heading to New York for the US Open at the end of the month.
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He will enter Cincinnati on a protected ranking after dropping from a career-high No. 4 to No. 81 during his absence.
Rune himself hinted at the schedule earlier in July. Asked on Instagram whether he would be in New York, he replied:
“That’s the plan.”
The comeback comes with a second variable: a switch of racket sponsor from Babolat to Wilson during the layoff, from the Pure Aero he rode to the top 10 to the Defyer model.
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Puntodebreak reported analyst Gill Gross calling the move “risky” and warning: “It’s a dangerous game, so let’s hope the situation with Holger has been handled properly.”
Aneke Rune told BT, in comments relayed by Puntodebreak:
“He is in an intensive training phase, playing points. The sessions are no longer light. He is at full speed and running all over the place. He has taken the final step in his comeback.”
Cincinnati qualifying and lead-in play open the week before the main draw. Rune has not confirmed whether he will play a warm-up event or step straight into Masters 1000 tennis on 13 August.
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