Concerns have been raised about Holger Rune’s racket switch from Babolat to Wilson ahead of his return from injury.
The 23-year-old has not played on the ATP Tour since tearing his Achilles tendon at the 2025 Stockholm Open last October. The Dane has repeatedly delayed his comeback, with the former world No 4 since dropping to 81st in the rankings – his lowest since early 2022.
Rune is on the entry list for the Cincinnati Masters in mid-August, but hopes that he may hit the ground running are being tempered. According to tennis content creator Gill Gross, the right-hander will have to be patient before he can play his best tennis again.
The commentator believes it could be at least six months before that is the case, something that was similar for Alexander Zverev after returning from the ankle injury he sustained at the 2022 French Open.
Gross said on his YouTube channel, “I think the expectation should be really low. If you’ve seen how arduous this recovery process has been, this is a real break where you’re going to have some serious rust: mentally, technically, physically.
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“This will probably be a pretty slow build for Holger. [Rafael] Nadal and [Jack] Draper are examples of players who tend to come back, and it doesn’t take them very long to get going, but Zverev did take a while to come back from his ankle injury at Roland Garros.
“When he came back, he was okay for about six months but he didn’t move like he usually moves and his confidence was pretty low overall on big points. There were a lot of issues when Zverev came back, and that lasted about six to eight months, and I would expect a similar timeline with Holger.”
During his time away from the game, Rune has switched from the Babolat Pure Aero 98 to the Wilson Defyer racket.
In early July, he said on the decision, “I was instantly drawn to this racket when I first started playtesting with Wilson. They have been supportive of my recovery, and I can’t wait to compete with Defyer when I hit the court.”
Gross then referenced reports that Rune had made the change for “business reasons”, before going on to say that that was a “dangerous” game to play.
He cited how Andre Agassi was one such famous example, with the American signing a lucrative contract to play with a Donnay racket before having a lot more success with Head.
Gross said, “It will be interesting to see Holger coming back with a reworked forehand technique and also with a different racquet. He is now with Wilson instead of Babolat.
“Which is interesting, right? Who switches off of the Pure Aero, everyone switches to the Pure Aero. It is very rare you see it the other way but this is Wilson’s new spin-orientated frame that was designed to rival the Pure Aero.”
Gross added that if this switch was made for financial reasons, that made him a “little queasy”, before continuing, “I am sure Holger will get accustomed to his new frame and it will probably be fine but there are some horror stories out there where players are making those decisions based on contractual stuff and monetary things… Andre Agassi had a famous one for example.
“It is a dangerous game to play so hopefully that was handled correctly for Holger.”
Incidentally, Rune has developed an intriguing rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, who is also out injured. The pair have played against each other for well over a decade and have a 2-2 head to head.
Rune won their last meeting, with the Danish star triumphing in the final of the 2025 Barcelona Open in straight sets. Many tennis fans will be eagerly awaiting their return at Cincinnati next month.
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