Holger Rune wasn’t about to let a harsh social media post slide. When someone criticized his charity work online, the Danish tennis star fired back with a pretty direct response.
The 22-year-old ATP player is gearing up for Wimbledon 2025 right now. He made it to the quarterfinals at Queen’s Club last week, which was a solid performance that he’s hoping to build on for the third Grand Slam of the season.
But even with all that preparation and training, Rune still finds time to check social media.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holger Rune | 22 | 2,540 | 22 - 12 |
And he’s not shy about responding when people call him out. The young player has a history of replying to accounts that mention him, especially when they’re being critical.
This time, an X account went after him for how he handles his charity work. Rune’s website has a section where he donates used equipment and sells broken rackets for pretty high prices. The fan account thought this was awful.
"Went on Rune’s website. This guy is so detestable man he has a page titled "Africa" and it’s 3 photos of his USED stuff shipped to an unnamed place in Africa with pictures of black children standing around it. He’s also selling smashed raquets for 6K on there."
The tweet went up on the morning of June 23rd.
Rune waited over 36 hours before responding. But when he did, he didn’t hold back or apologize. The two-time French Open runner-up defended what he does and turned the question back on his critic.
"That’s right. I send most of my old tennis clothes to various clubs abroad that needs equipment instead of throwing it out and a couple of years ago I also started supporting charity organisations for kids financially and raising awareness of helping where we can. I am sure we can all do more, but this is what I do right now. And what do you do?"
The Charity Dilemma
It’s a tough spot for athletes these days. They get criticized if they don’t do charity work. But when they do try to help, people question their motives and assume it’s just for publicity.
$6,000 for a broken racket does sound like a lot of money. Then again, tennis fans will pay crazy amounts for equipment used by their favorite pros. And if those rackets actually sell, that money could do some real good for people who need it.
Rune has been involved in other charitable activities throughout his career too. The Danish player has always been pretty fiery and sometimes controversial since he burst onto the scene. But he seems to be maturing and working harder than ever.
Falling Behind the New Generation
A few years back, people thought there might be a new "Big 3" forming with Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Rune.
Rune’s accomplishments definitely shouldn’t be ignored. But it’s pretty clear that his young rivals have pulled ahead of him for now.
He hasn’t quite reached the incredible level we saw at this year’s Roland Garros final between Alcaraz and Sinner. The Spaniard pulled off an amazing comeback, winning in a deciding set tiebreaker after saving three championship points in the fourth set.
That’s the kind of tennis Rune is still chasing. But at 22, he’s got plenty of time to get there.
