"When I was playing in Tokyo the week before Shanghai, I had a very important conversation with my whole team. In a way, a pretty brutal and straightforward conversation, where people were pretty honest with me. It was hard to hear in that moment, but I really appreciate it because something changed from then", says Rune in a talk with the American tennis legend Andy Roddick on the podcast "Served"
In the podcast, Rune explains that his team members gave him an eye-opener when he was told that he needs to do better in matches where things aren't going his way, and where he's having a hard time and feeling uncomfortable.
"We talked about that if I want to fulfill my potential, I have to do these things. If I don't want to do them, that's fair enough, but then we have to start talking to each other differently. In that moment, I understood the seriousness of these types of matches and the effort I have to give every time."
During the talk, Rune highlights an example from the tournament in Tokyo where he was eliminated in the quarter final by the unseeded American Jenson Brooksby, currently ranked as No. 48 in the world.
Rune says that he could have done better on that occasion. "Brooksby is a difficult player, but I didn't make a proper effort either". I don't want to take anything away from his victory, but it was an example of me not delivering a 10 out of 10 effort", says Rune.
The difficult talk in Tokyo apparently had a positive effect on Rune's performances.
In Shanghai, Rune reached the quarter-final before bowing out against French outsider Valentin Vacherot, who went on to win the tournament.
In Stockholm the following week, Rune reached the semi-final and won the first set in the semi-final against Ugo Humbert before tearing his Achilles tendon, which has ruled him out for the majority of the 2026 spring season.