In recent months, Holger Rune has come under fire for allegedly having far too much arrogance for a player of his caliber. But according to eight-time Major winner Jimmy Connors, the talented Dane shouldn’t keep his feelings bottled up. Ranked seventh in the world, Rune was previously involved in controversy because of his antagonistic relationships with Stan Wawrinka and Casper Ruud. The Swiss three-time Major winner and the Dane had a verbal altercation following their encounter at Indian Wells this year, although the Dane shook hands cold with the Norwegian at Roland Garros in 2022.

In light of this, there have been numerous suggestions in the tennis press that Holger Rune needs to behave better. On his Advantage Connors podcast, Jimmy Connors, however, has vehemently defended the 20-year-old, saying he shouldn’t feel bad about being who he is.

The 71-year-old did acknowledge, though, that a player’s performance may suffer if they are unable to control their emotions. He used the example of his friend and former World No. 1 Ilie Nastase to elucidate his point.

“Holger Rune has big expectations and big ambitions” – Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune

10th in the world In addition, Taylor Fritz supported Holger Rune in a Twitch live stream. The American first claimed that he and Rune got along well, then said that the Dane gets too much flak for having “big expectations and big ambitions.”

The American went on to say that supporters misinterpret Holger Rune’s conviction as conceit.