Holger Rune admits 'bitter' regret as Alcaraz and Sinner thrive without him

Holger Rune has admitted he feels "bitter" at having spent much of the past year sidelined while Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner both dealt with injuries of their own, a period he believes offered a rare chance to close the gap at the top of the men's game.

The Dane tore his Achilles tendon a year ago and has been out of action for close to ten months as a result, according to Tennis365. He is now 23 and working his way back towards full fitness, having posted a 4-4 win-loss record in 2026 so far.

Rune was once considered among the sport's leading Grand Slam contenders, reaching a career-high ranking of world No 4 and collecting five ATP Tour titles. He currently sits at 405th in the world as he continues his recovery.

His head-to-head record against the sport's two dominant figures underlines what was at stake: Rune holds a 2-2 record against Alcaraz, while Sinner leads their series 3-2.

"For sure, a part of me is bitter – 100%," Rune told Bolavip, as relayed by Tennis365. "When you look at it, it's a really tough year to be injured in, because there have been so many opportunities on the Tour with Alcaraz and Sinner being injured."

That frustration has been sharpened by the form Alcaraz has shown since returning from his own long-term injury. The Spaniard beat Ben Shelton 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the Paris Masters final at the Plenitude Arena, a result Reuters reported made him the first Spaniard to win the title since David Ferrer in 2012 and secured his ninth ATP Masters 1000 crown.

Shelton, the world No 4, overshot the baseline three times in the first-set tie-break to hand Alcaraz the opener, before fighting back from 3-2 down in the second set to level at 4-4. Alcaraz broke again to lead 6-5, and Shelton then overshot two forehands while serving to stay in the match.

"Today, it was one of the toughest challenges we have in tennis right now, facing Ben Shelton," Alcaraz said afterwards, according to Reuters, recalling the four-and-a-half-hour defeat Shelton had inflicted on him at the US Open quarter-finals in September.

"He is doing better and better with every tournament so it's going to be even tougher facing him. So I'm just really happy that I found the way."

The win extended Alcaraz's record since returning from injury at the end of August to 20-2, the best mark of any player on the ATP Tour over that stretch, Yahoo Sports reported.

It also moved Alcaraz clear of Sinner in a specific statistical measure. Yahoo Sports, citing OptaAce, reported that Alcaraz has now won 16 combined Grand Slam and Masters 1000 titles since 2020, ahead of Sinner's 15, with Novak Djokovic on 14, Alexander Zverev on six and Daniil Medvedev on five.

Alcaraz is next due to compete at the ATP Finals later this week, a title he has yet to win, while Rune continues his return from an injury lay-off that, by his own admission, cost him a run at the game's biggest prizes during a year when the door briefly stood open.