Anna Kalinskaya says Holger Rune messaged her repeatedly; Rune says she misread messages
Russian player tells podcast a top-20 rival sent 10 direct messages asking for a date; the Danish star replied on X calling it a misunderstanding
Anna Kalinskaya, the Russian tennis player, told a podcast this week that world No. 11 Holger Rune messaged her about 10 times asking for a date and that she rejected his advances.
Kalinskaya, currently ranked 32nd, made the comments on the First&Red podcast while discussing approaches she has received from fellow tour players. "Someone wrote like 10 times and then gave up. I'll say who it is now, Holger Rune," she said, adding that "he writes to everyone, it seems... He thinks too much of himself" and that he might be "just desperate." Kalinskaya said such approaches were more common earlier in her career and that she is now less receptive to unsolicited messages.
Rune, 22, responded on X, formerly Twitter, disputing Kalinskaya's interpretation and saying cultural differences may have led her to read a comment as an invitation to a date. "Ha ha ha. We might have cultural differences that make Anna read a comment on a story as an invitation to a date," Rune wrote. "If I want to go for a date, I ask for a date. Don't worry."
Kalinskaya also referenced other players who have contacted her, and the First&Red discussion revisited her past relationships. She drew public attention last year when she and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner were pictured together after the U.S. Open in September 2024. The pair later acknowledged their relationship publicly but separated a few months afterward; Sinner said in interviews that he was single and stressed a preference for privacy around his personal life.
The Russian player previously had a brief relationship with Australian player Nick Kyrgios in 2020, a pairing Kalinskaya later described as ill-suited. In her recent interview she said she has since moved on and is thought to be dating Tomas Ferrari, an acquaintance she dated in 2021 who is not a professional athlete. Kalinskaya told the podcast that Ferrari works in finance and that she would rather not discuss his identity further. She also referred to a dog named Bella, which she said belongs to her current partner and travels with her to some tournaments.
Kalinskaya's comments prompted immediate attention on social media, reflecting heightened interest in athletes' private lives as well as ongoing scrutiny of interactions among players on and off tour. Rune's X post framed the exchange as a misunderstanding rather than an attempt at persistent courting, while Kalinskaya maintained that multiple players had contacted her over the years and that the messages had become less frequent as she has grown older.
Representatives for Kalinskaya and Rune did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment. Tournament organizers and the ATP have not issued statements regarding the exchange.
The episode underscores how personal relationships and social-media interactions continue to intersect with life on the professional tennis circuit, and how players navigate public scrutiny while competing on the ATP and WTA tours.