Russian tennis player Anna Kalinskaya, who earlier dated tennis stars Nick Kyrgios and Jannik Sinner, has accused Holger Rune of sliding into her direct message on social media 10 times to ask for dates. The Danish tennis player has since refuted the claims.
Kalinskaya, 26, made the revelation during an interview on First&Red YouTube channel after she was asked about the men who may have asked her for a date.
Rune dismisses Kalinskaya’s DM claims
“Tennis players — more often before,” Kalinskaya said. “Now I’m older. I don’t know, for some, it’s just no chance at all. No need to write. Someone wrote like 10 times and then gave up.
“I’ll say it now, but Holger Rune. He writes to everyone. He deserves all this. Thinks too much of himself. But he’s not the only one. A couple [more]," she added.
As the video of Kalinskaya talking about DMs from Rune went viral, the 22-year-old tennis star clarified on X that the Russian misunderstood his messages, and if he wanted to take her out, he would be more direct.
“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 on a date, I ask for a date. Don’t worry.”
Ha ha ha. We might have cultural differences that make Anna read a comment on a story as an invitation to a date 😜 if I want to go on a date, I ask for a date . Don’t worry
— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) September 9, 2025
This is not the first time a female tennis player has claimed to have received DMs from Rune. Russian Veronika Kudermetova also said last month that Rune stopped texting her only after the 28-year-old tennis player made him aware that she was already married.
“Rune recently texted me,” Kudermetova. “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 has been married to her coach and former player Sergei Demekhine since 2017.