‘I leaked DMs from prime tennis participant whereas I used to be married – that is what actually occurred’
Veronika Kudermetova has reflected on sharing messages from a top tennis star – revealing she never meant to leak the saucy messages
Tennis star Veronika Kudermetova has revealed she never intended to leak messages from Holger Rune. It emerged last year that the former world No. 4 had contacted Kudermetova, who informed the Dane that she was married.
The Russian ace, previously ranked ninth in the world, shared how Rune had reached out to her online. During an interview, Kudermetova recalled telling him that she had a husband, which led the 22-year-old to end the conversation.
Speaking to Elena Vesnina in July, Kudermetova said: “Rune recently texted me. 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.’ After that, he stopped saying hi to me.”
The current world No. 30 has been married to tennis coach Sergei Demekhine for eight years. However, Kudermetova has explained she did not plan to reveal Rune’s messages.
“Actually, I was really upset after that interview and stressed over it for a very long time, because it came out looking ugly and wrong,” Kudermetova told Tatar Russia.
“It was a private conversation with Lena Vesnina while the cameras were being set up before the actual interview — I never thought they would include it.
“So the story about Rune was completely off-camera. I even specifically asked them to leave that part out. But in the end the podcast came out and it turned out quite provocative.”
The revelation received extensive media coverage and was even mentioned on commentary during her match at the Canadian Open. While Kudermetova considered it to be a funny anecdote, she admitted to still feeling awkward about the situation after Rune’s messages were thrown into the spotlight.
“On the other hand, I knew I hadn’t actually said anything wrong,” she added. “Rune wrote to me and I replied that I have a husband. We both laughed and that was the end of it.
“The problem was that it became public, all the media reported on it, and it turned into this ugly situation. Afterwards, every time I saw Rune at tournaments, I felt so ashamed. I really wanted to go up to him and apologise.”
In 2025, Rune defeated Carlos Alcaraz to win the Barcelona Open in April, while also finishing runner-up at Indian Wells. His season was cut short by an Achilles injury he sustained during the Stockholm Open semi-finals in October.
Meanwhile, Kudermetova’s best singles performance last year came at the Cincinnati Open, where she made the semi-finals. However, she did clinch the Wimbledon doubles title alongside Elise Mertens in July.
