Alexander Bublik takes swipe at doubles specialists: 'Singles players are mocking them'

Tuesday, 02 September 2025 at 01:45

byJordan Reynolds

Alexander Bublik gave one of the most brutal responses ever to doubles players who feel disrespected, claiming singles stars mock them.

The topic of doubles specialists and how much respect they deserve gained headlines after the 2025 US Open had a changed mixed doubles format played over two days during fan week on August 19th and 20th.

That was deliberately done to encourage top singles players to enter. Although some, like Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, withdrew, and Coco Gauff did not play, the new format contained many high-profile stars and was successful.

However, the only team containing two regular doubles players won the mixed doubles. Sara Errani, who consistently plays with Jasmine Paolini and won an Olympic Gold Medal with her last year, triumphed with Andrea Vavassori.

Many other doubles specialists took Errani and Vavassori's win as a sign that those who play it regularly deserve respect, and that it is not as easy as many thought for singles players to adapt and beat them.

But Bublik does not agree. In an interview with the journalist Ben Rothenberg, he brutally insulted doubles specialists and said they are not real tennis players. The Kazakhstani also claimed that many singles stars laugh at their doubles counterparts.

"The [doubles] guys that are sitting there and pretend like they're tennis players? No. That's why a lot of singles players are mocking them and laugh, because this is just a joke."

Bublik has always been someone unafraid to speak his mind, but these are startling remarks, even by his standards. He had never previously expressed his disdain for those who only play doubles, but that could not have been more evident in those comments.

Those remarks might have been influenced by his experience playing with Marcelo Demoliner, a doubles specialist, at this year's US Open. Bublik and the Brazilian were swiftly defeated 3-6, 2-6 by Fernando Romboli and John-Patrick Smith.

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Following that crushing loss, Demoliner released a fiercely critical statement about Bublik. He said this year's Halle Open champion showed a lack of commitment and that he wanted to forget playing with him.

"The life of a tennis player has this big challenge of trying to find a partner. Sometimes, because of the rankings, we have to partner up with a singles player, and that's a double-edged sword. Today, the result hurts a lot. Not even because of the loss itself, but because of the feeling of lack of attitude and commitment."

"Unfortunately, it wasn't the way I believe to be the right one, the way I always try to deliver. Sometimes, it can be great to play with a singles player, no doubt about it, but in other times it's tough. It's my career on the line, and there's a lack of empathy, and today is one of those days I would like to forget. If I knew it would have been like this, maybe I wouldn't have even entered he court."

The likelihood of Bublik and another doubles specialist playing together in the future seems unlikely after his comments to Rothenberg, which could cause some conflict behind the scenes.