French Open broadcasters under fire over treatment of star's sister

French Open broadcasters have been called out for their focus on Holger Rune's sister after his stunning run to the quarter-finals at the French Open.

The 19-year-old from Denmark captivated the tennis world as he made it all the way to the final eight at Roland Garros before losing to Casper Ruud.

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However he wasn't the only member of his family who caught the world's attention, with Rune's sister Alma featuring heavily during TV broadcasts of his matches.

Alma is also a former tennis player who is now a model, with nearly 20,000 followers on Instagram.

She could be seen cheering on her brother from the stands at Roland Garros and was shown numerous times during his fourth-round upset win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

It led sports journalist Reem Abulleil to write on Twitter: “Haven’t seen a broadcast this obsessed with one single figure in the stands as this director has been with Rune’s sister this entire match.”

Another TV viewer wrote: “The fight of who will get more screen time, Rune’s sister or Stefanos’ dad."

While a third wrote: "Why do they keep showing us Rune’s sister every two seconds?"

Alma took to social media to celebrate her brother's stunning run at the French Open.

“Proud of you, always,” she wrote on Wednesday alongside a heart emoji.

Family gets involved as Holger Rune beefs with Ruud

Rune was told to "grow up" by Ruud while the Norwegian was advised to "show some respect" after the two fought out a tense French Open quarter-final in which the Danish teenager even appeared to order his own mother to leave the stadium.

Ruud became the first Norwegian man to reach a grand slam semi-final when he defeated Rune 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in a match that ended just before 1am on Thursday morning (local time).

Rune took out his frustrations on the court, repeatedly grimacing and shouting at himself and the umpire as tensions mounted between the two players.

At one point, Rune yelled "leave, leave, leave" at the player's box, after which his mother Aneke slipped out.

Following the match, the 19-year-old Dane said Ruud was "so unsportsmanlike during the match and talked to me over and over again".

"I didn't want to give him a hug after the match. He got a high-five and then I just had to get away from him," Rune said.

Rune said Ruud then taunted him in the locker room after the match.

"He just went straight up to me and shouted "YEEEESSSS" right up in my face", the 19-year-old claimed.

"You can cheer on the court all you want and be happy. I do that myself when I win.

"But that's such bad style. Have some respect."

Ruud's father and coach Christian dismissed Rune's locker room claim as a "pure lie".

Ruud then criticised Rune's behaviour on the court and said he needed to "grow up".

"I don't know Holger personally, but I have seen on TV that sometimes there can be a lot of drama," Ruud said.

"He's young and new, so that's excusable, but when you're on a big stage, it might be time to grow up a bit."

Ruud will now meet Rafa Nadal in the final after beating Marin Cilic in Friday's semi-finals.

with agencies

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