Italian Open: Misunderstood Holger Rune Hits Back at His ‘Bad’ Boy Image with a Brutally Honest Justification

Holger Rune has spoken up about his ‘Bad Boy’ image. Despite recent controversy surrounding a racket incident at the Madrid Open, the Danish tennis sensation Holger Rune remains unapologetic about his ‘Bad Boy’ image. Rune has addressed the disagreements and disputes that have shaped his reputation as he gets ready to make his imprint at the Italian Open.

The 21-year-old, even after having a baby face, has always been seen as the bad guy in the tennis arena. During a recent interview in Rome, he stated, “I’m not bad, I’ve never had problems with anyone. I’m just someone who empathizes with the fight, I get excited. Sometimes I go a little too far.”

In addition, he highlighted the rush he gets in the heat of the moment, implying that an alternative interpretation of his actions can change how they are seen. However, this is not the first time that he has talked about the portrayal that comes out after his fights. While this time he defined how the portrayal comes into action, last year, in an interview with the newspaper L’Equipe, the Dane emphasized the fact that he doesn’t care about the image and enjoys it at the same time.

Rune stated, “I really like my reputation. I like my state of mind, I’m a fighter, everyone says it, it’s a good reputation. It’s fun. For me it’s still a problem to accept losing. Everyone says you have to be able to accept the defeats. When I lose a match I’m sad and angry, it’s normal.” Despite public perception, Rune stays unconcerned about his reputation, implying a feeling of detachment from external judgments and a firm resolve to remain loyal to himself.

Even John McEnroe’s brother talked about Dane’s personality on the podcast “Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe,” which furthered the conversation about his persona. Patrick McEnroe added, “He’s got some attitude but more than anything else I think he’s got game,” However, a few years ago, to defend his bad boy image, he took Roger Federer’s younger version into consideration.

When Holger Rune compared his ‘bad boy’ with Roger Federer 

A few years ago, Holger Rune defended his reputation, even drawing comparisons to the early years of Roger Federer. During an open discussion on Ekstra Bladet, he stated, “If you saw Roger Federer as a youngster, then he was maybe 40 times worse than I was – and he is one of the most beloved tennis players on the tour, so I think I have plenty of time to get an even better image.”

Based on Federer’s transformation into one of the most adored characters in tennis history, Rune believes he has plenty of time to polish his image. Rune is optimistic about the future and believes that, like Federer, he will eventually grow up and improve as a player both on and off the court.