‘Disgraceful’ Act From Aggressive Rome Crowd Irks Serena Williams’ Former Coach As She Issues Note of Sympathy for 20-Year-Old ATP Star Holger Rune

The Danish tennis player Holger Rune is currently playing in the Italian Open, where he faced a tough crowd. Although, he has faced hostile crowds in the past, seeing a crowd reacting against him since the beginning of the match is a totally different thing. Recently, the 19-year-old tennis player faced a brutal situation where the Italian crowd booed him before his face-off with Fabio Fognini. Seeing this, Serena Williams’ former coach wasted no time and took a stand to defend Rune after he faced the chorus of the crowd booing in rhythm.

Despite the reaction of the crowd, the world number 7 tennis player displayed his remarkable tennis skills. He shut down the crowd’s booing with his racket by winning the third-round match against the Italian tennis player.

Serena Williams’ former coach comes in support of Rune facing a brutal crowd

A few days ago, the video of the 19-year-old entering the court to play against the audience’s favorite Fognini was posted by the Twitter account, The Tennis Letter. In the video, the crowd was rhythmically booing as the Danish player entered the court. The seventh-ranked player in the world remained unresponsive and focused on his match. However, after witnessing this, the Australian tennis coach, Rennae Stubbs, took to Twitter to criticize the audience for their despicable actions.

She wrote, “Disgraceful….I mean it’s normal when you argue or carry on when you’re in Italy playing an Italian, we have all been there. But this is disgraceful behavior. @holgerrune2003 doesn’t deserve that.” 

Furthermore, she also highlighted how common it is to support an Italian tennis player when in Italy. In addition, the world number 7 didn’t say a word during the whole match. But after winning the match, during an on-court interview, Rune gave it back to the audience.

What was Holger Rune’s reaction to the crowd booing?

Whether it’s to a rival player or the boisterous crowd, the 19-year-old tennis player knows how to give it back. Thus, when questioned about the crowd boos after the game, he expressed pride in having advanced to the tournament’s next round despite the jeers from the crowd.

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He added that a few guys made a concerted effort to distract him during the break in the match. But he continued to be in the right zone during that game. But he also mentioned how everyone was merely rooting for their favorite player during the match.

Is Holger Rune the favorite for the Italian Open title?