Holger Rune delighted with consistent improvement in ATP rankings; earns coach Patrick Mouratoglou's appreciation

Danish tennis professional Holger Rune recently reacted to his impressive rise in the ATP singles rankings. The 19-year-old attained the highest ranking of his career when he took over the No. 9 spot on January 30 in the world rankings.

The teenager had an impressive 2022 season, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open -- the best Grand Slam performance of his career. The Dane also won three ATP singles titles last year while also making it to two other finals.

The 2022 Paris Masters winner turned to social media to showcase his rankings history over the past 12 months and reflected on how his ranking has drastically improved in just a year.

"Step by step #12monthsdevopment," Rune captioned his tweet.

At the start of the 2022 season, the World No. 9 was ranked at No. 103. In May, the Dane made his debut in the top 50 of the rankings. Following his Paris Masters triumph over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Holger Rune broke into the top 10 for the first time ever. On January 30, Rune reached his career-high ranking of No. 9, thus making him the highest-ranked Danish singles male tennis player in the ATP rankings.

Renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who currently coaches Holger Rune, also commented on the youngster's rapid rise to the top 10.

"Impressive growth," Mouratoglou wrote on Twitter.

"It will be extremely difficult, but it is not unrealistic" - Holger Rune's coach on the possibility of the Dane becoming the World No. 1

Patrick Mouratoglou believes that the odds of Holger Rune becoming the World No. 1 aren't impossible. Speaking to Eurosport last year, the French coach explored the possibilities of what Rune might achieve in 2023 as well as in the near future.

Having won three titles in 2022, the teenager is regarded as one of the best young players on the tour with a high ceiling. He beat an in-form Djokovic to win the Paris Masters title in 2022. Touching upon that, the 52-year-old said that the Dane has to be consistent from now on in every tournament he plays to fancy a chance to reach the top of the rankings.

"World No. 1 next year, is that realistic? Why not. When you can do what he did, anything is possible. Now, it's going to require him to be able to perform like he did in Bercy [at the Paris Masters], all year long, and especially in the Grand Slams and in the Masters 1000, where it counts the most," Mouratoglou said.

He further added that the journey will certainly not be easy, but it isn't unrealistic either.

"So it's not going to be easy, obviously, but if it were easy to be the best in the world, we'd know already. Is that realistic? It's not unrealistic. It will be extremely difficult, but it is not unrealistic," Mouratoglou added.