Rune in Crisis: "Does He Have a Brain?" Benoît Maylin's Strong Statement

Three years after his triumph at Bercy, Rune is struggling to confirm his status. At 22, his results are stagnating, his ambitions are fading... and the criticism is pouring in, as seen with Benoît Maylin's remarks.

Eliminated in the second round of the ATP 500 in Tokyo, Holger Rune continues to disappoint since his title win in Barcelona. The Dane, still on the cusp of the top 10 (11th this week), has had his best results as a round of 16 at Roland-Garros and a quarterfinal in Cincinnati.

Far from sufficient for a player of his caliber, who constantly aims to reach the level of the Alcaraz-Sinner duo. Following this latest early setback, Benoît Maylin shared his analysis of Rune on the show Sans Filet:

"He is fascinating. Because I'm curious to know if, one, he has something in his head. Seriously, you can't win a tournament like Paris-Bercy by chance. You can't be among the top five in the world by chance. You must have an extraordinary tennis foundation.

But does he have a brain? That's what we want to know, if at 22, it's going to click or not. Does he have a brain? Is there a moment when he's going to let go of everything around him? And tell himself: 'Okay, I'm taking charge, I'm an adult now. I don't have that little protective cocoon. I don't have that perfect setup that Sinner has.'

He is lost. He's not asserting himself. On the tennis court, he's all alone, he has to figure it out. If you put the spotlight and glitter on him, he's into it. But throughout the year, that's not the case. And grinding it out, that's not his thing."