World No. 9 Holger Rune has been accused of sending a text message to married tennis star Veronika Kudermetova, who claims she rebuffed his advances. The 28-year-old Russian alleged on a podcast that the 22-year-old Dane contacted her privately, only to be told she was 'too old' for him and already married.
Speaking on former doubles world No. 1 Elena Vesnina's podcast, Kudermetova said Rune messaged her but stopped greeting her at tournaments after she dismissed him. 'I told him, "Boy, I'm probably too old for you. If you looked at my Instagram, you'd see I have a husband." He replied, "Oh, sorry." Since then, he doesn't even say hello to me anymore,' she revealed.
Kudermetova is married to Sergei Demekhine, who is 41 and also serves as her coach. The couple recently celebrated doubles success at Wimbledon, where Kudermetova won the women's doubles title with Elise Mertens. Rune, meanwhile, has been linked to Caroline Donzella, a Dutch-Italian estate agent, though it is unclear if they are still together.
Both players are currently competing at the Canadian Open. Rune advanced past Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round and faces Alexandre Muller next. Kudermetova staged a comeback win over Cristina Bucsa and then defeated Olga Danilovic, setting up a clash with top seed Coco Gauff.
Rune's representatives have been contacted for comment. The Dane rose to prominence in 2022, notably winning the Paris Masters by defeating Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
