Rune and Mouratoglou part ways (again)

Dane Holger Rune and coach Patrick Mouratoglou have announced that they will no longer be working together, with the pair sharing news of their split on Monday. Rune’s team will nevertheless continue to work with Mouratoglou Academy members.

“Holger and I have decided to part ways,” Mouratoglou wrote on a Instagram post released around 3pm CET Monday. “This decision was reached mutually, as we believe Holger would benefit from a different approach in his set-up right now.”

Mouratoglou became Rune’s head coach again in February 2024, after the 21-year-old ended a double experience with former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker (October 2020-January 2024) and former Roger Fededer’s head coach Severin Luthi. The French coach, aged 53, had been his head coach for a first time between October 2022 and September 2023, leading him from the 30th spot in the ATP rankings to world No 4.

Now 16th in the ATP rankings, the Dane didn’t duplicate his great clay season of 2023 and was stopped at the fourth round of both Roland-Garros (lost to Zverev) and Wimbledon (lost to Djokovic). Rune has skipped the Olympic Games because of a wrist injury and is due to make his comeback in the US swing.

“Wishing Holger all the best in his future endeavours,” Mouratoglou concluded.

Mouratoglou and Rune, who was a recipient of the Champ’Seed foundation launched by the French coach in 2014, remain on perfect terms, according to their media release.

“(Holger Rune) is an exceptional player with immense potential and a strong character. It has been a privilege to work with him, and I have no doubt that he will continue to achieve great success in his career. I will remain his biggest supporter.

“The Mouratoglou team remains fully operational and committed to help him grow.” 

Mike James (performance manager) and Louis Fresneau (physiotherapist) travel with Rune on Tour. They were in the Dane’s box during the latest grass season, where Kenneth Carlsen acted as head coach in the absence of Mouratoglou.

And Rune has confirmed that Carlsen will continue to lead his team for the near-term future, writing on Instagram: “I have had some good talks with Patrick, and we mutually decided to part ways. He will always be a great friend, but for now, the best set-up for me is to continue with Kenneth who will be present at all practices and tournaments. Nothing change in my relation to Mouratoglou academy who always have been very helpful to me. I am looking forward to being healthy and back on track again.”

Under Mouratoglou’s coaching, Rune won his maiden Masters 1000 title in Paris, famously defeating Novak Djokovic in the final.

This stint, the partnership between the two began well this year, with Rune making a run to the semi-finals of the ATP 500 in Acapulco where he lost to Casper Ruud.

He then went on to make quarter-finals of two Masters 1000s in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo, as well as twin Grand Slam round-of-16 appearances at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.

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