Stefanos Tsitsipas' fall is far more of a concern than Holger Rune, says tennis journalist

Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas are two of the biggest names from tennis' next generation and their rise up the ranks in recent years has been nothing short of phenomenal.

That said, the trajectory shown by both players over the course of the 2023 season has not been the best.

While the Greek opened the season with a second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, he has failed to maintain that level. Such has been the drop that he has not won back-to-back main draw matches since the start of the North American hardcourt swing.

Taking note of the same, sports journalist Jon Wertheim said Tsitsipas' graph was far more of a concern than Rune while responding to a question in his piece for Sports Illustrated magazine.

Wertheim reasoned that Rune had simply "hit a wall", or in other words, hit a flat line, after his breakthrough season in 2022. The Dane, he noted, was still performing significantly well and there was only a finite amount of top-tier tennis that one can expect from even the best.

"As for the flip side… Holger Rune has simply hit a wall," Jon Wertheim said.

"There is a finite amount of top-tier tennis even the stars can play. Rune is clearly cooked. I would submit that Stefanos Tsitsipas is far more of a concern."

Holger Rune had lifted his first Masters 1000 trophy in Paris at the fag end of last year, ousting none other than Novak Djokovic in the summit clash.

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Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas slip in ATP rankings

Stefanos Tsitsipas is currently ranked at No. 7 in the ATP rankings.

Their recent poor performances have also taken a toll on Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas' ATP world rankings, with both players slipping a spot each in the standings that were updated on Monday (October 16).

Rune dropped 35 points after his first-round exit at the Stockholm Open to drop from No. 5 to No. 6.

The Dane also lost out early in his last two main draw appearances — at the China Open and Shanghai Masters. He now has a total of 4,605 points on the ladder, well behind Andrey Rublev's 4.765.

Tsitispas, meanwhile, dropped 255 points to now be ranked at No. 7. He has 4,360 points to his name. The Greek, however, is in contention at the European Open. He takes on Botic van de Zandschlup in his opening match.