Gasoline Grill<\/a> [thanks to Clara Tauson for this recommendation] I imagine this is gonna change your body. How are you staying as fit as possible and as toned as possible?<\/p>\nHR: I can say already now, I will be fitter when I get it back in my body. I\u2019m doing a lot of physical effort where I can and where I\u2019m not limited at the moment\u2014which is the core, the upper body. So there are other things to do, and I did it Day 1 after my surgery. I was in a gym doing the upper body. I\u2019m not a guy who can stay still for too long. You know, tennis is not a sport about just getting big. It\u2019s about getting fit. We\u2019re taking care of my nutrition, as I\u2019m not burning as many calories as I do when I\u2019m playing. What I probably will learn from this injury\u2014to the benefit of my body\u2014is accepting that sometimes you need another rest day.<\/p>\n
SI: What else is this going to allow you to do, this time off? You\u2019re gonna write a novel or you\u2019re going to learn how to play drums\u2014<\/p>\n
HR: My hand-eye coordination and like some kind of different mental training, that\u2019s something we started a few weeks ago. I\u2019ve been trying to read a little bit. So that\u2019s nice. I don\u2019t normally read. That\u2019s a good thing. And then I\u2019ve been really busy with rehab. You know, people say, you can gain new hobbies. I don\u2019t see where I have the time for new hobbies. I\u2019m doing my physio, I\u2019m doing my rehab, I\u2019m doing my strength, things for [the] rest of the body, and then I\u2019m enjoying time with my loved ones, which is so important and makes this time a lot easier.<\/p>\n
SI: I know you\u2019ve heard from a number of players on social media and probably privately, what\u2019s the best advice you\u2019ve gotten so far?<\/p>\n
HR: I would say the best advice that I\u2019ve gotten so far is a very basic one\u2014about taking your time. When I\u2019m coming back, I\u2019m going to be a beast because there\u2019s no reason for me to come back and not feel ready. So you know, I\u2019m a very eager person. I\u2019m very hungry to come back. At the same time, I want to come back as the best version of myself, a version that doesn\u2019t break, a version that\u2019s unstoppable, a version that can beat everyone, not only one week, but all tournaments. And I think now I have the time to build that person, both physically and when I get back to the tennis court.<\/p>\n
![\"Holger]( "\\"Holger")
<\/p>\n
Holger Rune reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 in 2023. \/ Aaron Doster-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
SI: What do you think your relationship is going to be with tennis in 2026? Do you think you\u2019ll watch Australia, for example?<\/p>\n
HR: After the injury, I was watching a little bit of Paris and Turin. And it gives me the hunger to come back more. I don\u2019t watch every match because I think it\u2019s necessary. But yeah, for sure, I\u2019ll tune in and watch something I love to watch. That is, I\u2019m a big tennis fan myself, so I\u2019m probably not going to be able to not watch and I think that\u2019s totally fine. Then for me coming back, it\u2019s going to be just an amazing feeling, you know. And whenever I have a tough moment, I will remember what\u2019s a real tough moment, right?<\/p>\n
SI: It sounds like a very healthy attitude. Are you working with a sports psychologist to navigate this?<\/p>\n
HR: Basically it\u2019s my family and everybody around me that has helped me. I just think having good support, a clear picture in my mind of where I want to go has made it very simple for me. I don\u2019t think a mental coach can help you overcome things. I think it\u2019s up to yourself. It\u2019s up to your own mind, how you put it up \u2026 I believe that I\u2019m a fast healer. But, of course, I need to respect my tendon as well. But I believe with all positive mindset, with belief, I\u2019m young, I\u2019m doing the right things; the right nutrition; I will heal faster \u2026 so that makes me kind of positive.<\/p>\n
I also see the process I\u2019m doing, the progress I\u2019m doing every week and every day, and it\u2019s getting bigger and bigger. You know, this next couple of weeks are going to be big, because that\u2019s where I get back to full walking, weight bearing with normal shoes with a little heel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SI: Are you a basketball fan at all?<\/p>\n
HR: There are some guys that I\u2019m watching sometimes.<\/p>\n
SI: I ask because there have been a number of basketball players that have also had Achilles injuries recently, and I wonder if the doctors had any explanation to you why we\u2019re seeing this injury more and more in sports now.<\/p>\n
HR: I think every player now on the tour is extremely fit. Which makes some players very explosive. I would put myself in there as a very explosive player. And then fatigue is another thing. Scheduling is another thing, the demand of the tour, which just has turned into basically every week from January to end of November, which makes it tougher to recover. \u2026 I had a chance to make the ATP Finals in Turin. And of course, I\u2019m not gonna stop\u2014that\u2019s why I don\u2019t regret playing in Stockholm. And I was playing really well. But it\u2019s tough. It\u2019s too many tournaments. The demands of the sport and scheduling is too much for players. And I think not just me. Mine is a big injury, but we\u2019ve seen other players getting injured, not being able to play full calendar. And I think especially the two weeks Masters is completely unnecessary. And I think every player is agreeing on that. I\u2019ve spoken to all the top players, and I feel like they agree on that. But again, I think it\u2019s really good. I mean, we need to be really fit also. And the game is really fit. You know, before maybe it was only the top 50 who were super fit. Right now it\u2019s 250 players that are super fit. So I think it makes a game more physical, for sure.<\/p>\n
SI: You think the schedule and the calendar still bears some blame here.<\/p>\n
HR: I don\u2019t want to blame anything. But I also don\u2019t believe in bad luck. I believe things happen for a reason. And you know, the main reason of these injuries is fatigue. \u2026 We\u2019re still humans, we\u2019re not machines or robots or anything. All of us understand we have to be so fit. We can play five-hour matches, and that\u2019s not every athlete that can do that in sports. So I think we do what we can to be ready now. I think the [ATP] should also have to adapt a little bit to the players. Right?<\/p>\n
JW: How do you assess your career so far?<\/p>\n
HR: How do you mean?<\/p>\n
SI: If this were a movie, what do you make of the story up to this point?<\/p>\n
HR: I would say my dream as a kid was to be the best player in the world. So the dream is still ongoing. The dream hasn\u2019t been succeeded yet. I\u2019m definitely playing the tournament that I want. I\u2019m living the life that I always dreamed of. But I\u2019m hungry for more. I\u2019m not satisfied with where I am. I\u2019m proud of many of the steps that I\u2019ve done throughout the journey and stuff. But this is something that I\u2019ve spoken with my team closely about. If I asked myself, like, as a 6-year-old, Would you be happy if this was the end, and I\u2019ll say, No, not at all, I wouldn\u2019t be happy.<\/p>\n
So I have so much more work to pursue I feel, and I have so much more that I want to achieve. And that gives me the hunger to keep going, to go for this injury, no matter what it takes to come back, and also be more clear in my mind of what I really want. \u2026 I think I can be the best player in the world.<\/p>\n
SI: Social media is poison. I hope you know you have 99 fans to every one hater. You have a lot of fans out there. What do you want people to know?<\/p>\n
HR: I think I want people to know that I\u2019m in good spirits. I\u2019m fighting with all my heart to come through this injury and I think, all the support from the fans means everything. I miss [competing] so much, and all the messages that I had \u2026 it sounds maybe [dramatic] to say, but without them, it\u2019s really not the same. After my injury, there were so many sweet messages, I get all emotional talking about it. But I will be back. I\u2019ll be back a better version of myself, and make them very proud.<\/p>\n
SI: You mentioned Roger Federer\/Rafael Nadal before. When you come back \u2026 are you the guy to take down Jannik Sinner\/Carlos Alcaraz? Is that how you see yourself?<\/p>\n
HR: Yes, that\u2019s my plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More Tennis on Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hey, everyone \u2026 \u2022 Happy holidays to all. \u2022 Here\u2019s this week\u2019s Served podcast where Andy Roddick and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-354685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}