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In an apology of sorts posted to Instagram, Holger Rune has admitted he needs to improve his “emotional control” after his tense French Open quarter-final loss against Casper Ruud.
The Danish teen was downed by Ruud 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 in a match that saw him lose his temper and appear to even tell his own mother to leave the player’s box.
Rune repeatedly shouted at himself and the umpire, while tensions rose between the two players — and has continued well after the match.
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Rune claimed that Ruud was “so unsportsmanlike during the match and talked to me over and over again”.
He also claimed that the Norwegian taunted him in the locker room after the match by going “straight up to me and shouted ‘YEEEESSSS’ right up in my face.”
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Ruud’s father and coach dismissed the claim as a “pure lie”, while the player himself said Rune needed to “grow up”.
Now with the dust settling, that appears to be something Rune agrees with.
In a lengthy Instagram post, he admitted to feeling frustrated and vowed to work on his on-court conduct.
“I have given my heart and my soul in every match in Paris,” he wrote. “I put a lot of passion in my work because that’s how I am. I am proud of my development and I also see there are things yet to be better.
“My quarterfinal I didn’t find my level and it’s frustrating. Still I should be able to find a way to win and this requires more emotional control. I am aware of this and will improve.”
He added: “Let the development continue and let’s focus on the positive.”
Nonetheless, there is still debate over exactly what happened in the locker room after the match.
Rune’s mother disputes the claim from Ruud’s father that his son didn’t yell in his opponent’s face.
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Meanwhile, Ruud addressed the claims in full on Eurosport, saying that it was all a “big lie”.
“No, what he says is wrong,” Ruud told Eurosport. “What he says is really not what happened. We both were in the dressing room after the match, and it’s obviously a huge dressing room. There are many players, so we were just in our own part of the room all the time.
“I took an ice bath, ate some pizza and listened to music, before we went home. While Holger sat in his part of the dressing room.
“How he creates the story of me shouting ‘YES’ straight into his face is just a lie. It never happened. It’s a big lie. It’s disappointing that he creates lies about me.
“For me it doesn’t matter if he thinks I am a player who doesn’t follow the fair play rules, that’s not really what matters.
“That’s his personal opinion, but to put out lies about me like this is not right. I really wish this is the last time he will do something like this.”
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