By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, September 17, 2026
Photo credit: Davis Cup Facebook
Holger Rune’s long and winding comeback road takes him back to the place where it all began.
Home.
Former world No. 4 Rune makes his return tomorrow representing Denmark in its Davis Cup World Group 1 tie against visiting Bulgaria. Rune will face Bulgaria’s Iliyan Radulov in the second singles match on the hard court of the Royal Stage in Hillerød, Denmark.
Rune, who spent part of August training with former world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in Spain, said he’s pumped to play again with one primary aim: Have a “f–king great time.” In an interview with long-time tennis journalist Nicholas Albek of SpilXperten.
“We’ve talked a little within the team about what the expectations are, but the most important thing for me will be to have a fucking great time,” Rune told Nicholas Albek of SpilXperten. “Hopefully, this will be the only time in my career that I’m out for such a long period, so it’s about enjoying it now.
“Davis Cup is also a good opportunity to test my level and see where I actually stand. These are real matches, there are more nerves involved, and we can really find out how the body reacts to actual competition.”
Rune concedes he will feel the jitters, but also will have the support of Danish fans.
The week leading up to these Davis Cup matches has been really exciting, and now I’m just incredibly excited.”
“Of course I’m nervous. There are a lot of butterflies in my stomach now that I’m finally going out there to compete again, so it’ll be exciting to see where I’m at,” Rune told Nicholas Albek of SpilXperten. “Throughout my whole life, I’ve been used to performing under pressure, so it feels natural, but to do it on Danish soil in front of Danish spectators couldn’t be better.”
“I’ve felt really good in training, but nobody knows where I really stand until tomorrow’s match. At least this is the right time for me to test myself.”
Rune seems to have recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered last October and a knee injury he sustained earlier this year. The Danish baseliner said his level is rising each week.
“I feel like I’m getting better day by day — this week as well,” Rune told Nicholas Albek of SpilXperten. “I played better on Tuesday than I did on Monday, and better on Wednesday than on Tuesday, so hopefully it’ll be good tomorrow, but we’ll see.”
Former Paris Masters champion Rune had been rehabbing at Aspetar Hospital in Qatar earlier in this summer then spent time training at the Mouratoglou Academy before sharing the practice court with Alcaraz in Spain. Rune said he considered playing the US Open, but was unsure if he was ready for best-of-five-set matches.
“I trained with Carlos Alcaraz in Murcia to see if I could get ready for the US Open, and I might have been able to play, but I don’t know if I would have been able to handle five-set matches day in and day out, so we decided it was better to take a couple more weeks,” Rune said. “Since then, I’ve trained a lot and trained hard, so I couldn’t have done more. Now it’s solely about how I handle the nerves, which can obviously affect the body as well.
“I want the atmosphere to be rowdy tomorrow. I’m ready for that. That’s one of the things that’s absolutely fantastic about the Davis Cup. Now I get to play at home in front of a lot of Danes, which is going to be really cool.”
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