Holger Rune sparks controversy with 'unsportsmanlike' accusation at Spanish fans after Davis Cup exit

Holger Rune suffered one of the most harrowing defeats of his 2025 season at the Davis Cup qualifiers second round on Sunday (September 14) as he dropped his final singles fixture to Spain's Pedro Martinez in three sets. Following his loss, the Dane made some choice remarks about the distinct nature of local fans present at the Marabella tie, which have since been criticized by the tennis community.

Denmark began the away match against five-time champions Spain on Saturday (September 13) with a 2-0 lead, thanks to Rune and his fellow Dane Elmer Moller's respective opening singles wins. However, the Spanish armada scripted a comeback soon after. World No. 67 Pedro Martinez was instrumental in the home team's victory, in particular, as he downed the World No. 11 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(3) in over three hours at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Malaga before Pablo Carreno Busta sealed the tie by a scoreline of 3-2.

While Holger Rune gave kudos to Spain's Davis Cup team and the fans in attendance on his social media handle later, his comments to the media were contrasting, to say the least. The 22-year-old inferred that the Spanish fans were "unsportsmanlike" in their conduct during the two-day tie while also claiming that his own country's tennis faithful were different.

"I think there are clear differences between the manners of Danish and Spanish people, with different nuances in education. They were unsportsmanlike, but I've experienced worse," Holger Rune said (via Punto de Break).

A few Spanish fans on X (formerly Twitter) were subsequently upset with Holger Rune's assertions this week. While one fan claimed that the Dane was himself no saint, another rued the fact that his 'mentality' is stopping him from monopolizing the top-most rungs of men's tennis.

"He says one of the rudest and most unsportsmanlike active tennis players... this guy is not exactly someone who can talk about good manners..." one fan wrote on X (translated from Spanish).

"Holger is a brat, and I highly doubt that with that mentality he can aspire to anything more than a Masters," another insisted on the social media site.

The former World No. 4 was also critical of the chair umpire during the Spain vs Denmark Davis Cup qualifiers second-round match in Malaga.

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Holger Rune says chair umpire did "a bad job" during his second singles match at Davis Cup qualifiers tie vs Spain

Holger Rune vents frustration during his latest loss | Image Source: Getty Enter caption

In his comments to the local media, Holger Rune put chair umpire Roberto Ranieri on blast for some of the judgement calls that the latter made during his second singles fixture against Pedro Martinez. The Dane refused to shake the umpire's hands following his loss to the Spaniard.

"He didn't deserve to be shaken by me, he did a bad job, made a lot of mistakes, and made strange decisions," Holger Rune said (via Punto de Break).

For what it's worth, Ranieri received flak for his umpiring from Spanish Davis Cup captain David Ferrer as well. During Rune's first singles fixture against former World No. 10 Carreno Busta, the umpire granted the 11th-ranked ATP pro a medical time-out for cramps, which led to a heated exchange between Ferrer and the chair umpire.

Spain, meanwhile, have now successfully qualified for the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna, Italy, where they will be joined by the defending champions Italy, France, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, and the Czech Republic.