"We can't comment" - Holger Rune defends Stefanos Tsitsipas amid accusations of playing for prize money after Greek's ATP Finals mid-match withdrawal

Holger Rune has come to Stefanos Tsitsipas' defense after the Greek was accused of only competing for prize money after retiring mid-match in the 2023 ATP Finals.

Tsitsipas faced Rune in his second match of the Green Group on Tuesday (November 14), after falling to Jannik Sinner in his opener. The Greek got off to a good start but barely moved in the third game and sat on his bench, down 2-1. He then withdrew after consulting with his trainer and was booed by the crowd on his way out.

Following that, former Danish tennis pro Tine Scheuer-Larsen took to X (formerly Twitter) and said that Stefanos Tsitsipas should have withdrawn from the match before it began and given his place to Hubert Hurkacz sooner.

She also accused the 2023 Australian Open finalist of only playing the three games for the money.

"Shouldn't Tsitsipas have withdrawn from the match against Holger and given his place to the reserve Hurkacz? Playing 3 games in front of 14000 spectators...the crowd booed - makes more sense now with hindsight... 3 games has previously been the limit for receiving the prize money," she wrote. (Quotes translated from Danish)

Holger Rune wasted little time defending his colleague, stating that no one should comment on what Tsitsipas should have done because no one was in his position.

"We are not in Stefanos' body. So we can't comment on what he should have done. We are here to fight and win. No one here in the top 8 is a quitter, and we will try to the end. If we only thought rationally, we wouldn't be where we are today," Rune wrote. (Quotes translated from Danish)

---

Stefanos Tsitsipas: "I'm really gutted that I wasn't able to finish the match"

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas apologized to fans for not finishing the match, during his press conference following his withdrawal. He also felt bad for not being able to give his place to someone else sooner.

"My apologies to all the fans and the crowd that came to support me today and watch the match. I'm really gutted that I wasn't able to finish the match. It's a shame also not to give that spot to someone else to at least try and do something with it," Tsitsipas said.

"My doctors and the countless visits that I had in the past few days suggested that I play, gave me the green light to go and try it for myself," he added.

Hubert Hurkacz will now replace Tsitsipas at the ATP Finals. The Pole will play his first match against Novak Djokovic at the year-end championship on Thursday (November 16).