Andrey Rublev Explains the Struggles Of “Surviving” as a Professional Tennis Player

Andrey Rublev has struggled on tour in the past two years with mental health issues and depression, which has often affected his on-court performance.

Andrey Rublev Explains the Struggles Of “Surviving” as a Professional Tennis Player

Andrey Rublev has enjoyed a successful career so far, winning 17 tour-level titles at the age of 27. However, things haven’t gone too well for the Russian star of late, who has had to deal with mental health issues and harsh criticism. He recently opened up about his struggles as a professional tennis player.

The 27-year-old star won his first ATP title at the Umag Open in 2017 and has since then won a title every year except in 2018. However, Rublev has had ups and downs in his career. He has struggled with mental health issues and depression, which has reflected on his game on the court.

This season, Rublev has won two Masters 1000 titles and has been to 10 Grand Slam quarter-finals in his career. He opened his account with an early exit at the Hong Kong Open and a first-round loss at the Australian Open against Joao Fonseca. The Russian star’s only triumph came at the Qatar Open, where he defeated Jack Draper in the final.

Since then, Rublev has struggled on the court. During the clay-court season, he was expected to play well at the Madrid Open being the defending champion, but he lost to Alexander Bublik in the third round. It was in Hamburg that he displayed some high-level tennis, but that was not enough to win the title after reaching the final.

Also, at the French Open, he reached the fourth round but lost to eventual runners-up Jannik Sinner in straight sets. In a documentary made by the ATP Tour, Rublev opened up about his struggles as a professional player:

Tennis is like my life. There is nothing more important than tennis, so every time I went on court, and things were not going my way, the feeling was like you’re dying. And of course, what do you do, you’re at the peak of your stress, you try to do everything to save your life. You’re winning titles, but inside, you’re surviving. You’re lying inside the bed, you cannot even rest because it’s non-stop, non-stop. I still love it, I still want to achieve as best as I can, but in a healthy way, not in a struggle way.

Rublev will now turn his attention to the grass-court season after a decent end to the clay season. He’s expected to play at the Halle Open ahead of the Wimbledon Championships.

Andrey Rublev Foundation partners with a hospital to support medical care for underprivileged children

Andrey Rublev created his foundation (Andrey Rublev Foundation) in 2024 and it has been dedicated to helping children in need by providing transformative care. The Foundation recently partnered with Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome, one of the leading pediatric hospitals in the world, supporting medical care for underprivileged children.

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Andrey Rublev with members of the medical staff (via ATP)

Also, the Andrey Rublev Foundation supports children from abroad facing serious or complex medical conditions. In April, Rublev visited the hospital and spent time with the members of the medical staff as well as the children undergoing treatment. Lisa Hernandez, the Director of Andrey Rublev Foundation revealed via ATP:

We are very excited to be partnering with the Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome. We are going to be providing financial aid to international patients to come here and receive special treatment and get surgeries and hopefully make a difference for a couple of children around the world.

However, Rublev also has his clothing company, which was launched in December 2023. The company launched with a collection of ‘Play for the Kids’, and the $150,000 made from the sale of the collection was used to fund the Andrey Rublev Foundation.

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