Andrey Rublev has had some very explosive moments on the tennis courts, and that frustration didn't come out of nowhere as he recently dealt with mental struggles.
The Russian always seemed like a troubled soul on the tennis court. He is a very cheery and smiley person away from competition, but Rublev sometimes looks completely opposite on the court.
He is often very serious and explosive, quite scary-looking at times. He's become known for his ever-present rage. It's not a good thing, and he doesn't want to be known for his outbursts.
Unfortunately for Rublev, it got so bad that he became synonymous with it. Sometimes, he would explode a few games into the match, and that's not good. That type of frustration clearly had roots outside of the courts because, even by his standards, it was too much.
Now we know that he was dealing with some mental health issues that obviously spilled over into this tennis career. He's a human being who tries his best, but sometimes it's just not enough.
He opened up about his mental hurdles recently at the 2024 Canadian Open in Montreal, where he managed to upset the World No. 1 player, Jannik Sinner, admitting that he was dealing with depression.
"Mentally I was out of order. I don't know how you can say it. Everything. I guess it was already long moment of everything, and I start to burn out because I was struggling for many years with depression, with many things outside of the court."
"I guess this year it's when I couldn't handle it anymore, and it starts to just explode. It start to explode more and more on the court because in life I was able to stay calm, but inside the court I was burning everything. In the end, yeah, I was struggling. Now last months I feel really good, and straight away tennis is better."
Rublev has looked a bit better recently, even though his outbursts have persisted. They have calmed in intensity, but they will likely be there forever in some shape or form. He's just that type of emotional player, and it's part of his charm, in a way.
But his tennis has significantly improved compared to a few months ago. That much is clear, and it's proof that whatever was bothering him has gone away a little.
It's still a process for him, as he will need to mature even further as a player. It's not just a bad look; it's also distracting. Daniil Medvedev is another player prone to the occasional outburst, and he spoke openly of how that was very distracting to him.
As a player, he can lose focus, which can cause him to lose the match and make him even more frustrated. Rublev has been doing better recently in this department, but there is still lots of room for improvement, and it's vital for his career.