Kalinskaya says Rune messaged her, Rune replies amid scrutiny

Russian player Anna Kalinskaya said in a recent interview that she ignored a string of messages from Danish player Holger Rune, drawing a public reply from Rune and renewed scrutiny of players' off-court lives. Kalinskaya, 26, said the exchanges occurred on social media and that one suitor messaged her about 10 times before giving up; she identified Rune by name and called him someone who "thinks too much of himself," comments that have since circulated widely online.

Kalinskaya made the remarks in a Russian-language interview that was translated and shared on social platforms. "Tennis players more often before. 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," she said. When pressed for a name, she replied, "I'll say it now, but Holger Rune. He writes to everyone. He deserves all this. Thinks too much of himself."

Rune, 22 and ranked among the top dozen men on tour, pushed back on social media. In a reply posted on X, he laughed off the suggestion and suggested a misunderstanding of online comments. "Ha ha ha. We might have cultural differences that make Anna read a comment on a story as an...