Wimbledon doubles winner Veronika Kudermetova has claimed she was messaged by fellow tennis star Holger Rune, but turned the Dane down as she is married and six years his senior
World No. 9 Holger Rune was allegedly turned down by married tennis star Veronika Kudermetova after she claimed he texted her. Kudermetova, 28, claims the 22-year-old Dane now doesn’t talk to her after she told him that she was ‘too old’ for him and is married.
Rune, a commanding presence on the ITF Junior Circuit as a teenager, burst onto the ATP Tour in 2022 and secured the most significant victory of his fledgling career at the Paris Masters, where he triumphed over both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
At 22, he remains an emerging talent on tour, but he has now faced allegations of sending a text to a fellow female player who is six years his senior.
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Speaking on Russian former No. 1-ranked doubles player Elena Vesnina’s podcast, Kudermetova alleged that Rune privately contacted her and now avoids greeting her at tournaments after she dismissed his text message and informed him that she was married, reports the Express.
“Rune recently texted me,” she revealed. “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.”
Kudermetova is married to Sergei Demekhine, who is 41, 13 years her senior. Demekhine also serves as Kudermetova’s coach and helped guide her to doubles glory at SW19 earlier this month alongside Elise Mertens.
In 2023, Rune confirmed on Instagram that he was in a relationship with Caroline Donzella, a high-end estate agent of Dutch-Italian descent based in Monte Carlo.
Donzella was first seen cheering for Rune at Wimbledon two years ago, and although he initially referred to her as a ‘friend,’ the pair appeared to strike up a romantic relationship.
However, it remains uncertain whether they are still an item. It’s not suggested that Rune was seeing anyone when he allegedly made contact with Kudermetova. Rune’s representatives have been approached for comment.
Both Rune and Kudermetova are competing in the Canadian Open this week. Rune triumphed over big server Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round and is due to face another Frenchman, Alexandre Muller, next.
Kudermetova, meanwhile, has been performing well, staging a comeback in the opening round to defeat Cristina Bucsa before breezing past Olga Danilovic in straight sets.
She’s up against a formidable opponent in No. 1 seed Coco Gauff on Thursday evening, who rebounded from her early Wimbledon departure by defeating Danielle Collins on Tuesday. However, the Russian will be keeping a close eye on the American’s serving difficulties.
Despite 23 double faults during her victory against Collins, Gauff remains optimistic about her performance against Kudermetova in the next round.
“It was a frustrating match for me. I felt like I was practising well and then I don’t think I transferred it today, but hopefully I got my bad match of the tournament out of the way and I can come back stronger.”
