tennis
Becker confirms: I am Holger Rune’s trainer
Has a new job: Boris Becker. photo
© Matthias Balk/dpa
Boris Becker returns to the tennis tour as a coach. In the future he will coach the Danish star player Holger Rune.
Boris Becker returns to the tennis tour as a coach. “I can confirm that I am the coach of Holger Rune,” the three-time Wimbledon winner told the Eurosport podcast “Das Gelbe vom Ball”.
The 55-year-old revealed that he has been in contact with the 20-year-old star player from Denmark for a long time. “Now it’s a great fit. My calendar allows it and I’ve always been interested in Holger because he’s so committed and temperamental on the tennis court.” For him, Rune, who is ranked sixth in the world, is “a rough diamond that needs polishing.”
Becker was most recently back on duty as a television pundit after being released from prison for tax offenses in Great Britain last December. As a coach, the former world-class player celebrated success with the 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic (Serbia) between 2013 and 2016.
Comparisons with Djokovic
Like Djokovic, Rune also had emotional outbursts that Becker “liked,” as he said. “That’s allowed. The coach and the team create an oasis in which the player has to let it out – if he then apologizes and works with concentration again. I did the same thing back then as a professional,” said Becker.
For the first time he will look after Runes at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, which begins on Saturday, said Becker. He then wanted to help him qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin through the prestigious tournament in Paris-Bercy: “That is the big goal and that is the task.”