Clara Tauson and Holger Rune are childhood friends and former mixed-doubles partners – not a couple. They won the Danish under-12 mixed doubles title together in 2014, shared the C WorldWide talent award in 2018, each won a junior Grand Slam title in 2019 and played the 2023 Hopman Cup for Denmark. They have also had the same coach, Lars Christensen. Here is the Clara Tauson Holger Rune story, limited to what is documented.
Clara Tauson and Holger Rune: friends, not a couple
There is no credible report of a romance between them. Clara Tauson's boyfriend is Kasper Elsvad, whom she confirmed in August 2024 and who is also her coach. Holger Rune's publicised relationships have been with other people. Many still search for "Holger Rune Clara Tauson", probably because the two have been mentioned in the same breath for years as Denmark's brightest tennis talents. More on Clara Tauson's boyfriend.
Childhood: Danish mixed doubles champions in 2014
Tauson and Rune are from the same age group and both grew up in North Zealand, north of Copenhagen. They met in Danish junior tennis, and in 2014 they won the Danish under-12 mixed doubles championship together – one of the first titles to link their names.
Tauson was already one of the biggest talents in Danish tennis. She trained at HIK with Lars Christensen as her coach, and in August 2016, aged 13, she became the youngest Danish women's champion ever, breaking Caroline Wozniacki's record. A year later she won gold at the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Győr.
The C WorldWide award in 2018
In April 2018 the two shared the C WorldWide talent award, receiving DKK 50,000 each according to TV 2. That the prize went to exactly these two shows how they were seen at the time: as two sides of the same Danish tennis future.
2018 was a strong junior year for Tauson: she became European under-18 champion and finished the year with bronze at the ITF Junior Masters in Chengdu. In 2019 she received the C WorldWide award again, and in January 2019 she was named Denmark's Olympic Hope of the Year at DR's sports gala.
2019: two Danish junior Grand Slam titles
2019 was a special year for Danish junior tennis. In January Clara Tauson won the Australian Open girls' title, beating Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the final – the first Danish girl to do so – and then became junior world No. 1. The same year Holger Rune won the boys' title at the French Open (Roland Garros).
Later in 2019 Tauson gave up junior tennis to concentrate on her senior career – follow it on the Clara Tauson career page, and see her senior WTA titles on Clara Tauson's titles and finals.
The 2023 Hopman Cup for Denmark
In 2023 they were reunited as partners when they represented Denmark at the Hopman Cup in Nice. The Hopman Cup is a national team event with one woman and one man, who play singles separately and mixed doubles together. Denmark lost the mixed doubles rubber to Switzerland.
In 2023 Rune told tennis.com that he and Clara know each other very well. If you look for what Clara Tauson has said about Holger Rune, there is little to find: we have not found any longer interviews in which she talks about him. The most quoted line is Rune's own description of the friendship.
Why do some people think they are a couple?
The two names are searched together for several reasons: they are the same age, come from the same area, played mixed doubles as children and again at the Hopman Cup, received awards together and have had the same coach. Danish media have presented them side by side for years as the two biggest names of the new generation. None of this says anything about a relationship, and no established outlet has reported one.
A shared coach: Lars Christensen
Lars Christensen coached Holger Rune for many years and had coached Tauson in her junior years from the age of about nine. From November 2023 to September 2024 he was her coach again, now on the WTA Tour. In that period she reached the fourth round of the 2024 French Open and qualified for the Paris Olympics. In September 2024 Kasper Elsvad took over – see Clara Tauson's coaches.
Questions about Tauson and Rune
Are Clara Tauson and Holger Rune a couple?
No. They are childhood friends and former mixed-doubles partners. Clara Tauson's boyfriend is Kasper Elsvad.
When did Clara Tauson and Holger Rune play together?
They won the Danish under-12 mixed doubles title in 2014 and played together for Denmark at the 2023 Hopman Cup in Nice.
Have they had the same coach?
Yes. Lars Christensen coached Holger Rune for many years and coached Clara Tauson in her junior years and again from November 2023 to September 2024.
Who won junior Grand Slam titles in 2019?
Clara Tauson won the Australian Open girls' title in January 2019, and Holger Rune won the boys' title at the French Open the same year.