Speaking on Tennis Channel, Roger Federer’s former coach, Paul Annacone, had his say on Holger Rune onboarding Boris Becker as his coach. Rune recently appointed Becker, who has formerly worked with Novak Djokovic, after a string of poor results. Annacone believes this new partnership could work very well but needs to be handled delicately.
Rune was previously coached by Patrick Mouratoglou, who left the team after an early exit at the 2023 US Open. Annacone stated it would not be straightforward for Becker to fill in for the French coach. He said Rune’s mother, Aneke, would make things tricky for the German legend. However, Annacone was confident the new collaboration would succeed despite these factors.
Rune-Becker partnership potentially perfect but could face hurdles, says Paul Annacone
Holger Rune entered the 2023 US Open ranked World No.4 and was understandably expected to go deep. He, however, met with a shocking first-round exit against World No. 64 Roberto Carballes Baena. After the tournament, Rune and Mouratoglou split up. Only recently did the Dane sign Becker up as a coach. They confirmed their partnership after practicing together for a week in Monte Carlo.
Federer’s former coach, Annacone, shared his thoughts about the association on Tennis Channel (via Tennis World USA). He said that it does not always matter who the coach is, but how the coach works with the player. He opined that the Rune-Becker duo is a perfect match because of their similar styles.
“Look what’s the coaching situation is to me, it’s not always who it is, it’s the way they combine, so you really don’t know. This is, this should be a match made in heaven because of the way both of these guys go about their business.”
Annacone, though, believed it was an awkward situation because of Mouratoglou’s recent exit and Aneke Rune’s influence on her son. He said Holger has always had his mother around, which has helped him very well. The American believed that it is not easy to judge whether the Becker-Rune partnership is working and how the coach deals with Aneke’s influence until the duo performs together for a while.
“But look, it’s a tricky situation right? Holger got a very strong parental figure in the picture. His mom has been there to help, she has been around helping him done a great job. Patrick Mouratoglou is now not in the picture, so there’s not a real simplistic kind of equation that you are gonna know if it’s gonna work or not until they do it for a bit.”
The Runes’ personality and philosophy should be compatible with that of Becker, as per Annacone. He said the collaboration will work if everyone maintains their boundaries and does their respective jobs.
“See how the personalities match, see if there’s buy-in, see if there’s philosophy agreement and see if everybody can stand their lane and do what they are supposed to do.”
Rune and Becker kickstarted their journey with the ATP Swiss Indoors in Basel. He has made it to the semi-finals, where he will face Felix Auger-Aliassime.
How Holger Rune fared under Patrick Mouratoglou
Mouratoglou joined Rune’s team in late 2022, working alongside the World No.6’s childhood coach, Lars Christensen. They got off to a good start, with Rune winning the 2022 Paris Masters, his first ATP 1000 event. He also had a decent 2023 until the North American swing. In addition to making it to the quarter-finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, he also reached the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters and the Italian Open.
However, problems crept in after Rune’s stunning first-round exit from the US Open. His mother alleged that infighting between his two coaches negatively impacted him, and Mouratoglou subsequently left the Dane’s staff. Becker’s arrival has signaled a change in fortunes for Rune. After poor outings in the Asian swing and a first-round exit in the Stockholm Open, he looks back in his groove. Rune will have his eyes on the prize in Basel and will also want to mount a serious title defense later at the Paris Masters.
