Holger Rune beating Novak Djokovic to win biggest title of his career as a 19-year-old did him more harm than good, claims ex-ATP pro

One former ATP pro is of the opinion that Holger Rune winning the 2022 Paris Masters as a teenager, where he beat Novak Djokovic in the final, did the Dane more harm than good. Rune was only 19 years old at the time, and defeated five top-10 players to win the title in Paris.

Rune, then unseeded, defeated John Isner, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the final. There, he took the defending champion down in a thrilling three-sets win to lift his maiden Masters 1000 title.

Speaking in the latest episode of the Nothing Major podcast, however, Steve Johnson shared his belief that by winning the tournament in such audacious manner, Rune brought massive expectations upon himself.

Johnson, in fact, was of the opinion that even losing to Djokovic in the final there could have freed up Rune more, following which he could have gone on to build a more solid career for himself.

“Take Holger Rune in 2022, when he’s 19 years old, he wins Paris, that just throws him more into the spotlight, he’s now expected to win these Masters series because he did it at such a young age, and it’s hard to live up to those expectations week in and week out," he said.

“I think if he lost to Novak [Djokovic] in the finals there, he maybe doesn’t have the expectation the last couple of years that he had,” he added.

Rune reached the quarterfinals at the Paris Masters the following year, but lost to Djokovic in a rematch of the final.

Holger Rune is now injured and out for the start of the 2026 season

BNP Paribas Nordic Open 2025 - Day 8 - Source: Getty

Now ranked World No. 15, Holger Rune is currently out with an injury on his Achilles tendon. The Dane has undergone surgery, and is expected to miss the start of the 2026 season, perhaps even all of it.

Speaking on the podcast, Steve Johnson stated his belief that things are so much worse for Rune now with the injury, especially with the spotlight on him.

“Obviously, now that he’s hurt and out for the next year, that’s a real big bummer. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s a lot worse, because you’re at the forefront of the spotlight, you beat Novak, a Masters series title as a teenager. That’s hard to deal with,” he said.

If Rune skips the start of the 2026 season, his rankings will be in freefall. He reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open in 2025 (200 points) and also reached the final at Indian Wells (650 points).