Wimbledon star 'banned by his sponsor' from selling his broken rackets for £5,200

Holger Rune appears to have landed himself in hot water with one of his sponsors after two of his broken rackets appeared on his official online shop. 

Rune crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round, falling to a five set defeat by Chile's Nicolas Jarry, losing 4-6 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 as the eighth seed was one of the early big names to fall. 

The Dane's official website Shop Holger Rune saw two rackets appear for sale, at the steep price of $7,231 (£5,291) given that they were effectively useless. 

'Holger Rune's smashed rackets are ultra-exclusive collector's items, used in official matches and available in very limited quantities,' the item description on the website explained.

'Why? Because Holger Rune rarely lets frustration get the better of him. But when it does, the moment - and the racket - tell a story.'

However, on Tuesday morning they were no longer being listed, with only his match outfits and other merchandising accessories still available, with manufacturer Babolat criticising the decision to put them up for sale in the first place. 

'It’s not our intention to promote broken rackets,' Babolat chief Marion Cornu is reported to have told CLAY and RG Media. 

'We're in talks with his agent. Obviously, it's not our intention to promote broken racquets,' Cornu added at the 150th anniversary celebrations for Babolat. 

'We have to be consistent with our values, so we're working on that issue with his representatives.'

According to CLAY, Rune's team confirmed that none of his agents or those close to him had been contacted by Babolat. 

The outlet adds that the team behind his website chose to take them down as they were reluctant to attract any unwanted media attention and distract the Dane.  

Only one of the rackets was sold, with all the money reportedly to be donated to charity.