“Cultural differences”: Holger Rune explains why he texted Anna Kalinskaya “10 times”

Was this one lost in translation? Holger Rune took to social media to shut down claims that he might be getting too comfortable in some WTA players' direct messages.

The Dane has once again (but more on that later) found himself the subject of some girl-gossip as Anna Kalinskaya recently chatted with former Top 5 player-turned broadcaster Anna Chakvetadze in a Russian-language video interview. The WTA world No. 32, who last year was in a relationship with Jannik Sinner before the Italian confirmed their breakup this spring, was asked by Chakvetadze if she often is asked out on dates by fellow tennis players.

The 26-year-old, who also once dated Nick Kyrgios, said that though propositions come less frequently now than they once did, one unnamed player was persistent.

"Some it's just no chance at all; no need to write," she confessed through giggles. "Someone wrote like 10 times and then gave up."

Prodded by Chakvetadze's for the player's identity, Kalinskaya named-dropped Rune.

Read more: Holger Rune slams “fake news” social media accounts after Cincinnati Open victory

"He deserves all this," Kalinskaya continued, adding that the 22-year-old Dane "thinks too much of himself ... but he's not the only one."

"All this" may refer to a purported pattern by Rune of sliding into Russian players' direct messages. Last month, Veronika Kudermetova alleged in a different Russian-language interview with Elena Vesnina, that the Dane also asked her on a date. Kudermetova, 28, has been married to her coach, Sergey Demekhine, since 2017.

“I told him, ‘Boy, I’m probably too old for you. If you looked at my Instagram, you’d see I have a husband,’" Kudermetova said in comments translated from Russian. "He replied, ‘Oh, sorry.’ Since then, he doesn’t even say hello to me anymore.”

But Rune did speak up in response to the now-viral clip of Kalinskaya, which as of this writing as 3.5 million views on X, formerly Twitter.

"Ha ha ha. We might have cultural differences that make Anna read a comment on a story as an invitation to a date," Rune responded. "If I want to go on a date, I ask for a date. Don’t worry."

Though Rune suffered an earlier-than-expected second-round exit at the US Open, he likely won't have much time for off-court frivolity as he hopes to play a key role in Team Europe defending its Laver Cup title next week.

“My goal is to give them a lot of fight, great energy, and hopefully a win,” the soon-to-be Laver Cup debutant said. “You don’t just play for yourself; you fight a little extra more because you play for something bigger than yourself. It brings pressure for sure, but also a lot of motivation.”

The Laver Cup airs live on Tennis Channel from San Francisco from Sept. 19-21.