Tearful Holger Rune helped off court after sustaining left Achilles injury in Stockholm
The world No. 11, who led Ugo Humbert by a set, all but saw the rest of his season put in doubt.
World No. 11 Holger Rune had to be helped off the court Saturday in Stockholm after sustaining a left leg injury during his Nordic Open semifinal with Ugo Humbert.
The top seed arrived on court with his left leg wrapped. Leading 6-4, 2-2 and holding break point, Rune pulled up grimacing following a forehand in the deuce court. Limping over to his player bench, Rune began tearing up as he was consulted by an ATP physio. The match was cut short shortly thereafter.
Humbert is through to his first final since capturing the indoor hard-court title at Marseille in February.
Rune had been undefeated in five prior meetings with the Frenchman. His left Achilles/calf was the official reason given for the mid-match retirement, all but putting the rest of his season in jeopardy.
According to several Danish outlets, including Ekstra Bladest and TV 2 Sport, Rune’s mother Aneke updated via text message that her son would likely require surgery for a torn Achilles with a recovery time of up to six months. Rune is scheduled to undergo testing Sunday to determine the severity of the damage.
The 22-year-old started this week at No. 12 in the Race to Turin and had an opportunity to trim away at Lorenzo Musetti’s lead for No. 8 following the Italian’s quarterfinal defeat in Brussels.
🖥️📲 Stream Race to the ATP Finals and Race to the WTA Finals on the Tennis Channel App!
Casper Ruud, ranked just in front of his fellow Scandinavian on the race leaderboard, has made up some ground on the Italian. The three-time major finalist defeated Denis Shapovalov to line up a showdown with Humbert for Sunday’s title.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, who advanced to the Brussels final over home hopeful Raphael Collignon, has officially overtaken Jack Draper for No. 9 with his showing. The Brit shut down his season in September due to a left arm issue.