Andrey Rublev

One of the stars of the ATP’s vaunted ‘Next Generation’, Andrey Rublev is a player who could be a multi-time Grand Slam winner by the end of his career. Still only 23 years old, the Russian has already won 10 ATP titles – 8 in singles and two as a doubles player. He is also an integral part of Russia’s Davis Cup side. He is a junior French Open winner as well as having won two medals in the youth Olympics – a silver in the doubles and bronze in the singles tennis events at the 2014 Summer Games that were held in Nanjing.

Rublev is also already an Olympic medallist at senior level, having won a gold in the mixed doubles event at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 alongside Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Rublev is also a student of the game; he studied the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov in a bid to learn from their game.

Rubev turned pro in 2014 having won not only the junior French Open but also the prestigious Orange Bowl. It didn’t take too long for him to win his first title, although it is worth noting it came as a doubles competitor. The win came in the Moscow Open too, where he paired with Dmitry Tursunov to clinch his first-ever title on the tour. However, from that point on, it would take him another two years to add to his collection of titles.

It came about in dramatic circumstances too, as he entered the first round of the Umag Open as a lucky loser. From there he would storm to the final and win the match against Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets. In that same year he made it to the Next Generation ATP Finals and reached the final where he lost to Hyeon Chung.

2019 saw him make plenty of strides in his career; he beat Roger Federer in the Cincinnati Masters and also recorded a win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the US Open. To top things off, he would win his second singles title of his career at Moscow, the venue he won his first doubles title.

2020 was arguably his breakthrough year as he won a total of five ATP titles – those wins came in Doha, Adelaide, Hamburg, St. Petersburg and Vienna. He followed this with a gold medal at Tokyo 2020’s mixed doubles event and a third-round exit at the US Open, following which he was ranked fifth in the world.

Rublev’s most potent weapon is his big forehand, which he uses to great effect from the baseline. He is also extremely proficient at hitting a running version of his forehand, which he is extremely at ease with and can often make plenty of passing shots with it. His backhand, which is a two-hand shot, is also a shot that he can hit consistently and with power.

His first serve is powerful but his second service lacks consistency, which has seen him hit many double faults. He favours power but that can often be his undoing, as the aim to hit the ball hard often results in unforced errors. His footwork is also an aspect of his game he can work on.

Australian Open – quarterfinalist in 2021
French Open – quarterfinalist in 2020
Wimbledon – reached the fourth round in 2021
US Open – quarterfinalist in 2017 and 2020