Tough Turnarounds

Two matches, two countries in one day for Rune

Sometimes, the biggest challenge of life as a qualifier is getting to court on time.

At around lunchtime on Saturday, 9 April 2022, Holger Rune clinched victory in the final at an ATP Tour Challenger event in Sanremo, Italy. A morale-boosting triumph for the talented teenager, Rune’s next assignment was to compete in the qualifying draw at the prestigious Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The only problem? His first-round qualifying match against Moldova’s Radu Albot was scheduled for later that very afternoon, and Monte-Carlo lies approximately 40 kilometres west of Sanremo along the Mediterranean coast.

“It was a very intense day,” recalls Rune. “I knew before I played the final in Sanremo that I was signed in for the qualies in the afternoon in Monaco. It was actually more stressful the day before than on the day, because you knew the night before, ‘Okay I will play two matches tomorrow’. Two important matches.

“I actually didn't sleep very well, but I managed to get through and win the final [in Sanremo] and win the first match [in Monte-Carlo qualifying]. It was so busy, but luckily, I had a quick massage between the matches just to get ready and I was very relaxed in the second match.”

It was a classic example of the sometimes-hectic nature of professional tennis: Qualifying rounds usually take place on the Saturday and Sunday before main-draw play, when the previous week's events are still ongoing. Rune nonetheless has fond memories of the dash by car from Italy over the border into France and on to the historic Monte-Carlo Country Club.

“I was with my coach and my mum,” said the Dane. “I think we were all very quiet actually, because we were super tired because it was a long week in Sanremo. In general we were just happy because it's a good moment coming from a title, going to Monaco, which is one of the best tournaments in the world. So everything was good, honestly. We were happy.”

Like de Minaur, Rune’s first ATP Tour qualifying success came when he was 17. The Dane, now a Top 10 player with four ATP Tour titles, battled his way to the main draw in Santiago in 2021. He remembers the impact that feat — as well as his other experiences as a qualifier — had on his self-belief when he was an impressionable teen cutting his teeth on Tour.

“It feels different [as a qualifier] because suddenly you get to play the big events,” Rune said. “Even though you're a qualifier, you are still there with all the players and [using] all the great facilities. So you kind of feel more like an ATP player, and that's great. That gives you extra motivation and confidence to do better. And from there on, it's a journey, you know. It's a long journey to the top.”

Baptism Of Fire

Qualifying a tough school for upcoming talents

Matteo Arnaldi is another example of a player who has capitalised on qualifying momentum in the 2023 season. The 22-year-old Italian reached the main draw in Madrid in April and then defeated World No. 4 Casper Ruud en route to the third round at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. That achievement came just two months after his first attempt at qualifying for an ATP Tour event.

“It's a totally different Tour and world,” said Arnaldi of the step up from the ATP Challenger Tour to ATP Tour qualifying. “The first time I felt so much pressure, and I think they are also completely different matches. Sometimes the players that you play against in qualies are the same as in Challengers, but it’s a totally different tournament, with different facilities you have at the tournament. It was a bit tough maybe to understand how to do well, but now I think I'm doing great.”

As a newcomer to the Tour who regularly competes in qualifying, how does Arnaldi approach an event?

“I think first about qualifying, because it's a completely different draw after,” said the Italian. “The main thing also is the hotel, because you have a lot of nights at the hotel, you have everything paid, you can stay all the week maybe also to practise [if you reach the main draw]. Usually if you lose in qualies, maybe you go home because it's a lot of days [before] the next tournament. I'm from Italy, so if I’m in Europe, maybe I go back [home]."

Arnaldi’s mention of hotel rooms is another, perhaps lesser-known aspect of life as a qualifier. Each tournament offers players a room in a tournament hotel while they compete in qualifying, and that all-expenses-paid stay can be extended by reaching the main draw. What may seem a token gesture to some can in fact be crucial for players looking to make ends meet across an 11-month season during which accommodation costs add up quickly.

"I didn't have much money when I was younger. My family, all of us," recalls Arnaldi. "So sometimes I think about it, with the nights [in the hotel], it is always something that [helps] when you are not rich and not able to pay a lot. When I was a junior, I also travelled a lot alone because I couldn't afford a coach.”

The more you qualify, the more main draws you reach, the more prize money you earn. It is a tough world in which to operate, but one which offers high rewards for success. Arnaldi can attest to that fact — he broke the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings with his Madrid run, for which he also earned €48,835 prize money.

“Sometimes it comes in my mind, but maybe now I started to earn a bit more, I just try to go on court and think about the match, think about what I have to do and do my thing,” said the Italian, who reached as high as World No. 42 in early October. “I try to do my best and then it will come later for sure. If I don't get the win this time, I will get the win another time.”

Bouncing Back

Struff's qualifying streak triggered charge back up rankings

It isn’t just for up-and-coming talents that qualifying wins can spur a change in fortunes. After a tough run of injuries, Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff has rejuvenated his career off the back of a string of qualifying successes.

The 33-year-old was World No. 167 in early January but racked up a 10-1 record in qualifying matches across the first half of 2023. He built on those victories in main draws, too, reaching the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo and the final in Madrid to rise to a career-high No. 21 in June.

“You don't want to lose in qualifying, you don't want to lose first round in the main draw, you don't want to lose at all, but sometimes it's a bit different,” Struff told ATPTour.com after his Madrid run. “I lost matches in qualifying in my career. I just somehow got a rhythm winning matches [this year], and I’m very happy with that. I didn't know actually that it was 10-1, so I’m pretty happy, and in qualifying there are so many strong players as well.

“It builds up a lot of confidence. If you qualify, come into the main draw, you’ve played some matches, it feels much better. You feel kind of in rhythm.”

Having been a consistent presence in the Top 100 for much of his career prior to his injuries, Struff was often one of the most experienced and established players in the qualifying draws he entered this year. While crucial for his own return to the top of the game, the German recognises the extra significance qualifying matches hold for his rivals who may not yet have made their mark on the upper echelons of professional tennis — not least because he was once in their shoes.

“The most important qualification for me was Roland Garros in 2013, when I beat [Teymuraz] Gabashvili,” recalled Struff. “It was my first time qualifying for a Grand Slam, which felt really, really good. That was huge for me. After that I qualified for Wimbledon, and it was big for me. I think a lot of players have these qualifying moments which make them believe they can do it, go further, and go past this stage. It makes a lot of confidence and belief, I would say.”

Now his ranking is again high enough to gain automatic entry to most main draws, it is Struff who sometimes finds himself in the sights of in-form qualifiers chasing an upset. He does not underestimate anyone who has played their way into the draw, particularly when it comes to his opening match at an event.

“Sometimes It's tough because they have some rhythm,” said Struff of taking on a qualifer. “It depends. Sometimes on grass, for example, if they played a first match, they have some matches in stock already. It could be good, it could be bad. Sometimes it's good not to get a main-draw player straight away, like a seeded player.

“Some players are very dangerous, upcoming players who are playing qualifying. I feel like the quality of players and the level, like in Challengers as well, raised so much in the past few years. It’s so good. It is sometimes very, very tough.”