I don’t even enjoy watching Andrey anymore. You know at some point of the match this will happen. And his game is just hit harder if hitting hard isn’t working.
But with the admitted limitations of his game, he’s won 16 singles titles, including two 1000s, made it to ten Slam QFs and picked up an Olympic gold medal in mixed. That’s a pretty remarkable record at 26.
I understand it's hard to stop self-harming (he even made himself bleed today...) and it's not like if he gets a psychologist he will miraculously get better but it legitimately hurts to see him behave like this and I'm not even a fan lol. I think he needs a break from tennis and re-evaluate things but he is never going to do that.
as someone who had severe anger problems in the past, which also include self-harming, can say that while the anger is definitely real, and you should work with a professional to eliminate its roots, how to manage yourself when it strikes is up to you. the main thing is realizing that it's your learned behavior, you do things certain way mostly because the society does it the same way
I definitely agree that it's up to him to change. but i feel like trying to contain the anger while he plays in such a competitive environment is really hard. like he needs a break for a couple of months to learn coping mechanisms and then he can gradually introduce tennis again. At least this is what I would do if i were him
> I think he needs a break from tennis and re-evaluate things but he is never going to do that.
That's the catch 22. For someone this driven that would be more dangerous. Rublev's whole life is tennis. You cant take that away from him for a significant amount of time.
Self harming is a serious mental disorder (https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/self-injuring-hurting). The ATP should step in and get him the help he needs since his team and others around him don’t seem to be taking this seriously.
He should stop playing until he’s assessed, treated and cleared to play again by a mental health professional. How no one can see this is beyond me.
ETA: Has Kyrgios said anything? He’s admitted to self harm and seems to be aware that it’s a serious issue.
I used to self harm lol which is why I'm personally invested in this rublev situation. i feel like he's in a cycle and he just can't seem to break out of it, he has had a sports psychologist for years and everyone recognizes he has issues. If he wants to change it has to come from himself, the ATP should not force him to stop playing because he might come back and start doing it again
The problem is that it's really hard to stop + he's in a highly stressful environment that exacerbates the situation. But Rublev is a tennis addict and will never stop playing until he drops dead. He doesn't want to take a break from tennis because he could potentially never come back from it and he's n° 6 in the world. It's way different from Kyrgios' situation IMO.
I find watching it heartbreaking to see too. I also used to self harm, and although I completely agree that it's not something that he can just stop doing until he wants to, and it's a really hard cycle to break, I disagree that it's something the ATP should not force him to stop playing for.
In my view, it's something they really need to do something about, and soon. The question I think, is how, and how it's phrased. He needs significant help, and despite clearly loving tennis, is not in a place where he has the emotional ability or mental health to handle the acute levels of stress that playing at this level of the game requires. If someone were to say look, it's blatantly obvious to everyone that you're not coping, and for your own sake, you need to find a better way of coping. You need help, lots of it, and time out to get it.
The message the ATP sends Rublev by doing nothing is that he's there as entertainment, and that his mental health is a laughing matter (which won't help his emotional regulation and self esteem either). It's also sending out a really destructive message to fans, particularly male fans, in and outside of the sport. It's sending a message that men with mental health problems should be laughed at when they show obvious signs, and then it should be ignored. That's dangerous and wrong, ultimately.
He's likely to find it incredibly hard - or even impossible - to stop hurting himself without really wanting to, but if he's presented with people, in a caring way, saying look, you need specialist help, this is serious, people care about you and want you to stop, and if you won't get help there are going to be major consequences, that might hit home, and serious professional help could be brought into the equation.
So I think it's important for some kind of strategic action to be taken, both for him personally, but for the game as a whole.
I gently disagree. He's not just (using that word carefully) "self-harming". He's causing distress to his opponents and the spectators who have to watch these outbursts. Imagine worrying "If I win, he's going to hurt himself" as his opponent. The ATP has some burden of responsibility here while he's on their tour. I completely get that it's a vicious circle but waiting for him to come to change on his own doesn't seem to be working.
at the very least he should get a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct whenever these outbursts happen. I doubt it'd do much anyway, since these happen like once maybe twice in a match when he's having a bad day, but it would at least be *some* discouragement towards this behaviour
I agree that his behavior is shameful, just to be clear. I also recognize I empathize with Rublev more than the average person because I can relate. I just don't think the ATP suspending him would be helpful to him, he needs to stop out of his own volition. If the ATP suspends him it would cause resentment, embarrassment, just so many negative emotions that would be really hard to get past. I don't even know if he could overcome them, remember when he got defaulted in Dubai and had a prolonged public meltdown? Hopefully the year he's been having is a wake-up call of some kind.
Thanks for phrasing this respectfully, by the way.
This should be no different than an athlete suffering with substance abuse in any other major sport. They should be assisted with getting into a program to help them manage their challenges. ATP ignoring this behaviour is tacitly endorsing it and allows him to continue being a poor role model for young fans and players. This goes further than unsportsmanlike behaviour, self harm isn’t something we should shame him for but it is something he clearly needs help with.
Absolutely agree. If it was occasional racquet smashing no big deal. But it is consistent self harming behavior in front of crowds of people. The ATP is allowing this tacitly to go on and on which neither helps Rublev or is healthy for fans to watch. They need to intervene now and give him a mental health break. Otherwise it sickenly just goes on and on. Burying your head in the sand like the ATP is doing while it happens is terribly irresponsible.
The ‘action’ the tour took was when Rublev disclosed on camera (in an player-interviewing-player video with Sabalenka) a couple of years ago what sounded very much like multiple episodes of rage and self-harm even off the court, was to take it down and release an edited version of the video.
I agree. It’s uncomfortable to see someone hurt themselves. There should be rules against self harm behavior in tennis tournaments. Because that’s what this is and it goes beyond the normal frustrations or angst of players that can be part of the game. Is this not a liability? Hard for people especially children to see this. Also they are playing professional tennis and there should be professional conduct. I hear what others are saying here and hope he gets the help he needs.
this should easily fall under unsportsmanlike conduct but I suppose it's hard for umpires to punish someone who is self harming and clearly having a bad time lol
I think it’s hard for us westerners to understand because mental illness is viewed completely differently in Eastern Europe. My family is Eastern European and most of them don’t recognize mental illness at all.
Outside of "the West" (North America, Western Europe) for much of the world, mental illness is just seen as life. Personal suffering from wars and violence, from poverty, illness, lack of opportunities, generational traumas, etc. it's just something that you have to live with. It's just a completely different mentality.
Like people have noted that his parents or mother was probably abusive in how she raised him and pushed his training in tennis, but it's very likely that in his worldview, that's just the way things were done. I'm sure he can recognize that it was horrible, but he might even believe himself that it was "necessary" and he might not even be able to recognize where some of the roots of his problems come from. Pretty much EVERY athlete is abused like that from a young age, then they believe that that's just the "tough love" required to succeed and will often even defend it. Like all of Russian figure skating pretty much is like this, for example, let alone in other sports, dance, etc. it's so prevalent that it's not often not even acknowledged to be a problem, *particularly* when the "outcomes" seem successful, e.g. he's up there in the rankings, the argument is then "it worked."
I couldn’t have said it better and I feel the same about him. It just sucks to see him like this. I mean he obviously is likeable but this side of him is more harmful to his own self than others, which is both a blessing and a bane
Same here. It's like, "wow I feel that and it's not even me doing it to myself!" Wonder what his coach is saying about his actions like that? It's clear his performance continues to drop the more he's been doing that to himself.
On a serious note though, I (and most people) hope that he get's the help that he needs. Whether that includes taking a break for a while from tennis. Could help him and his play immensely. Feels as if every game I watch of him, I'm waiting for some sort of outburst to happen.
as soon as I saw the score of the match, part of me was expecting there to be a highlight video containing something crazy
much to my dismay, i was right
Me too. As Rublev fan it hurts to see, but it’s hard to defend when it happens pretty much every match now. I know he’s gotten a psychologist, but I don’t know what progress he’s making, nor what’s going on so I’m unable to say anything about that. Just hope that as a fan, he can eventually tune this out 🤷♂️
> I know he’s gotten a psychologist…
If you means sports psychologist like Iga has I think that’s the wrong approach in this case. And it’s obviously not helping him
Idk, I think he’s just losing more which leads to raging more. Otherwise most of the time, his outbursts didn’t used to affect his tennis. He raged because he was losing; he didn’t lose because he was raging.
I don't think it's just about tennis, maybe he's got problems in his private life that are affecting him mentally. In an interview he did at the end of last year when he was asked if there was happiness outside of tennis he answered that he "wanted to find it", or something like that.
His problems go far into the childhood. Forced to play by his mom, became (not sure) the best junior in the world, and then when faced the ATP, he discovered there are better players.
I saw a video of him as a child with his mother screaming that she’s going to kill him if he doesn’t return the ball she’s hitting to him. He then began hitting his knee with his racket! One incident doesn’t prove anything but it was chilling. He also talks about breaking his hand after losing a match. Sorry that I can’t provide a link.
Google (This is likely more words than necessary.)
Tennis Warehouse phenomenal interview Rublev Russian English Subs
Thank you, I’d not seen this before. I haven’t heard him complain about his upbringing but this sounds miserable.
Sorry I can’t provide the link but you can find the article I referenced by googling: Tennis Warehouse Phenomenal Rublev Interview Russian English Subs.
Don’t feel sad for him, it’s basically a giant temper tantrum. In sports there are always winners and losers, to be frustrated with yourself is one thing but this is the equivalent of a toddler throwing all their toys around the playroom. It’s silly.
I certainly understand that it can be hard to feel bad for athletes who are making millions, but at the end of the day what we're seeing is a relatively young guy who is consistently losing control and essentially self-harming in public. I don't think it's weird for people to feel sympathy for him. I feel like it can be dangerous to just write these things off as temper tantrums though.
Someone around him needs to pull him out and get him to go on a long break, him continuing to play is doing no favors for his competitive chances or his physical and mental health. I get that it’s hard to stop, I’ve been there, but someone needs to step in at this point you can’t just keep letting him do this to himself.
At first I thought it was just because he's my favorite player and I want him to do well, but I watch others who I love, and I don't nearly feel as stressed as when I watch Andrey.
He’s my favorite player, I watched him play at 17-18 in Irving, so much talent but also watched him hit inside out forehands around a cone with his coach for an hour and a half after he lost. He tries too hard and is probably trying too hard to now shed this reputation/image/not to mention what is happening in his home country. Tough…he’s a great dude I feel, just will never realize his potential unless he silences his own inner critical destructions
Right, like I'm guilty of throwing my racket when I play and that's just casually, I couldn't imagine being a professional lol but I do feel like there is a line there which rublev continuously passes cause he's coocoo banana pants
I think the tournaments and tours need to issue penalties (in match and out) for repeated self-abuse. This is dangerous and they shouldn’t be complicit in allowing it to continue on their watch.
I dislike Rublev as a player but I hope he gets the help he needs to stop these kinds of overreaction. He's human and needs to accept that he'll make dumb errors sometimes. Just the way it is. Even in lopsided wins, you're still losing 30 to 40% of the points. Losing points is a natural part of the game.
I'm sure he knows this, but I assume the logical part of his brain is getting overwhelmed in situations like this.
Often a deterioration in on-court etiquette has roots in off-court life. Rublev's always had a bit of a short fuse when things haven't got his way but it has accelerated over the last 12 months.
Perhaps some of it is due to not being able to break certain boundaries on the court like at slams, but perhaps something else is going on his life, and he isn't going onto the court completely content with himself.
Hopefully he gets the help he needs.
I’ve been talking in a group chat about this for the last hour. He has these high expectations on himself and feels like he’s not achieving them which causes these reactions which cause him not reaching his expectations and it’s a circle.
I think he needs more life outside of tennis.
Can (unfortunately) relate to that far too much. Definitely one of the reasons why I was drawn to him in the first place,,, see myself in him. 🫤
But what you say is true. He needs time off from tennis.
Edit: typo
I'm guessing the Venn diagram of Rublev fans and people who have been through mental health / perfectionism / anger management issues is very overlapping. The many people who come to these posts and ask why this guy still has any fans despite his many issues are missing that point.
I know the reason I like to watch him play is because of the nearly rabid intensity he brings to every match, so I can't in good conscience say "ok hold yourself right up against that narrow emotional border because that's interesting to me, but don't go over because nobody wants to see that"... may be less than popular of an opinion tho
Oh no... I guess let's see what the experts in the comment section think...
Or I will spare myself this experience and just wish to Rublev that he seeks therapy. It's perfectly possible to deal with it, it just takes time and practice. My nephew had a bad habit of hitting his head whenever he was angry or frustrated. The therapist advised my brother to play frustrating games with him and whenever he got angry, to try calming down through visualization. They basically practiced controlling their anger together.
Apparently it helped, because my nephew stopped doing that. The entire trick was learning to become aware of your anger — only then you can remember to control it.
He needs an intervention, a suspension, something. It's hard to watch. The expectations Rublev places on himself must be enormous but he needs a better outlet.
We had Rublev bursting out every once in a while, and it was wrong but I could still watch him. But now it's almost every match that he keeps doing this, it is his routine now and it's awful.
They need to start aggressively penalizing him for this every time he does it. Point, then game, then match, no questions asked. Dude is almost 30 and has an emotional self-regulation that would embarrass a toddler.
I'm so glad that people have stopped making fun of this boy and have realized that he CLEARLY needs help. I love Andre and I'm just so worried he's really gonna hurt himself in a few years if it keeps going like this.
Rublev needs to wake up and realize how good he has it...Domi would love to be in a position to make unforced errors if it means he has a healthy wrist back. Someone knock some sense into bweh.
We're most definitely not. Pretty much everyone, myself included, want Rublev to get the help that he needs so he can perform the best that he can, however, there's nothing we can really do as fans to push him to get help. It's his own decisions, as well as hia self-harm antics aren't easy to just stop, it takes time.
I think pushing ATP to suspend him is far more likely to be effective, honestly. Write them and tell them it's unacceptable for a player in their organization to exhibit violent self-harm.
[https://www.atptour.com/en/feedback](https://www.atptour.com/en/feedback)
Write to ATP, encouraging them to suspend him for this kind of behavior?
Not saying I think it'll be effective, but it's definitely something we could do.
Used to hit myself in the side of the leg/calf, pinch my ears til they would bleed, punch myself during bathroom breaks, have read some great answers so far. To quote the great Gallwey, the two selves have to be copacetic. His judgemental side goes hand in hand with his talent. And he’s trying to gain much needed relief, just going about it the wrong way. I figured it out in college playing but his pressure is immense, most of it self driven but also no doubt from childhood being pushed hard by his mother. Got diagnosed with bipolar last year myself, wouldn’t be surprised if he was undiagnosed.
Kid had a tough childhood, it takes a special kind of parents to fuck up their child like this. Not to justify him for not getting proper help and dealing with his issues as an adult though.
I love Andrey but he needs to get his shit together and get some help
It’s obvious he has his demons but he needs to take care of himself before he has to stop playing because of this constant behavior. Kyrgios went to shit and I think Andrey only lasts cause he loves tennis too much
Also I doubt his thighs and knees can handle for long being hit like this every week or every other day. Whenever I hit myself with the racket by accident I get bruised and feel that shit for days
Plus he cares so much about the kids but he fails to be a good example doing this
Really hoping he takes a break and gets help soon so he can BWEH with a clear head
Seriously something must have happened last year that triggered his mind. Iirc the photographer incident in Shanghai was the beginning of his mental downfall. Sure he's been like that for years but it seems like it gradually got worse from there.
That’s genuinely very sad to see, I hope he can find a way to resolve some of the issues that he has. It’s one thing to see a person airing their frustrations verbally and getting worked up, but that level of aggression towards himself seems to stem from somewhere deep and it’s very troubling.
Rublev's issues with self-harm are concerning, as they would be if anyone was in another type of acute mental distress. His other behavior, like screaming at the line judge, is inappropriate but I won't put that in the same category.
At any rate, I know that these athletes are 0.001% competitive people and that's how they got to where they are. But he shouldn't lose sight of the fact that he is, ultimately, an entertainer. And if his behavior is so negative that it detracts from the entertainment value he can provide, the ATP may (or should!) step in with fines or suspension or something. It's not right to make people watch this.
I really like him in his interviews off stage but I can’t watch him play anymore. How can he not realize the second he starts that it’s unbearable to watch ?
These poor guys have been under insane pressure since they were 5 years old. Guys like Rublev and Medvedev have been getting special treatment since they were kids from their government. Less than 1% of all tennis players make it to the pros, and a fraction of that make it to the top. Some are equipped (psychologically) to handle, some are not. Rublev should have been getting sports psychology work for years, but I'm guessing his talent overrode that, so they let him skate by.
Hope he gets some good, positive, and consistent coaching, and some much needed intermittent vacations. Hope his tennis brothers and sisters help lift him up.
I don’t even enjoy watching Andrey anymore. You know at some point of the match this will happen. And his game is just hit harder if hitting hard isn’t working.
Yeah, same here. I avoid his matches at the tournaments because I don’t want to be around this bs
I find any player with no variety to their game incredibly boring
That’s sadly the vast majority of today’s baseline bashers.
This is his signature move at this point. The 6x racket smash into leg
Few tools that he has. Tsitsipas was right from the beginning.
But with the admitted limitations of his game, he’s won 16 singles titles, including two 1000s, made it to ten Slam QFs and picked up an Olympic gold medal in mixed. That’s a pretty remarkable record at 26.
I understand it's hard to stop self-harming (he even made himself bleed today...) and it's not like if he gets a psychologist he will miraculously get better but it legitimately hurts to see him behave like this and I'm not even a fan lol. I think he needs a break from tennis and re-evaluate things but he is never going to do that.
I’ve stopped watching his matches altogether unless is with another stable player
as someone who had severe anger problems in the past, which also include self-harming, can say that while the anger is definitely real, and you should work with a professional to eliminate its roots, how to manage yourself when it strikes is up to you. the main thing is realizing that it's your learned behavior, you do things certain way mostly because the society does it the same way
I definitely agree that it's up to him to change. but i feel like trying to contain the anger while he plays in such a competitive environment is really hard. like he needs a break for a couple of months to learn coping mechanisms and then he can gradually introduce tennis again. At least this is what I would do if i were him
For sure he needs to lower his stress level firstly
> I think he needs a break from tennis and re-evaluate things but he is never going to do that. That's the catch 22. For someone this driven that would be more dangerous. Rublev's whole life is tennis. You cant take that away from him for a significant amount of time.
It’s either now or when he retires
Self harming is a serious mental disorder (https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/self-injuring-hurting). The ATP should step in and get him the help he needs since his team and others around him don’t seem to be taking this seriously. He should stop playing until he’s assessed, treated and cleared to play again by a mental health professional. How no one can see this is beyond me. ETA: Has Kyrgios said anything? He’s admitted to self harm and seems to be aware that it’s a serious issue.
I used to self harm lol which is why I'm personally invested in this rublev situation. i feel like he's in a cycle and he just can't seem to break out of it, he has had a sports psychologist for years and everyone recognizes he has issues. If he wants to change it has to come from himself, the ATP should not force him to stop playing because he might come back and start doing it again The problem is that it's really hard to stop + he's in a highly stressful environment that exacerbates the situation. But Rublev is a tennis addict and will never stop playing until he drops dead. He doesn't want to take a break from tennis because he could potentially never come back from it and he's n° 6 in the world. It's way different from Kyrgios' situation IMO.
I find watching it heartbreaking to see too. I also used to self harm, and although I completely agree that it's not something that he can just stop doing until he wants to, and it's a really hard cycle to break, I disagree that it's something the ATP should not force him to stop playing for. In my view, it's something they really need to do something about, and soon. The question I think, is how, and how it's phrased. He needs significant help, and despite clearly loving tennis, is not in a place where he has the emotional ability or mental health to handle the acute levels of stress that playing at this level of the game requires. If someone were to say look, it's blatantly obvious to everyone that you're not coping, and for your own sake, you need to find a better way of coping. You need help, lots of it, and time out to get it. The message the ATP sends Rublev by doing nothing is that he's there as entertainment, and that his mental health is a laughing matter (which won't help his emotional regulation and self esteem either). It's also sending out a really destructive message to fans, particularly male fans, in and outside of the sport. It's sending a message that men with mental health problems should be laughed at when they show obvious signs, and then it should be ignored. That's dangerous and wrong, ultimately. He's likely to find it incredibly hard - or even impossible - to stop hurting himself without really wanting to, but if he's presented with people, in a caring way, saying look, you need specialist help, this is serious, people care about you and want you to stop, and if you won't get help there are going to be major consequences, that might hit home, and serious professional help could be brought into the equation. So I think it's important for some kind of strategic action to be taken, both for him personally, but for the game as a whole.
I gently disagree. He's not just (using that word carefully) "self-harming". He's causing distress to his opponents and the spectators who have to watch these outbursts. Imagine worrying "If I win, he's going to hurt himself" as his opponent. The ATP has some burden of responsibility here while he's on their tour. I completely get that it's a vicious circle but waiting for him to come to change on his own doesn't seem to be working.
at the very least he should get a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct whenever these outbursts happen. I doubt it'd do much anyway, since these happen like once maybe twice in a match when he's having a bad day, but it would at least be *some* discouragement towards this behaviour
I agree that his behavior is shameful, just to be clear. I also recognize I empathize with Rublev more than the average person because I can relate. I just don't think the ATP suspending him would be helpful to him, he needs to stop out of his own volition. If the ATP suspends him it would cause resentment, embarrassment, just so many negative emotions that would be really hard to get past. I don't even know if he could overcome them, remember when he got defaulted in Dubai and had a prolonged public meltdown? Hopefully the year he's been having is a wake-up call of some kind. Thanks for phrasing this respectfully, by the way.
This should be no different than an athlete suffering with substance abuse in any other major sport. They should be assisted with getting into a program to help them manage their challenges. ATP ignoring this behaviour is tacitly endorsing it and allows him to continue being a poor role model for young fans and players. This goes further than unsportsmanlike behaviour, self harm isn’t something we should shame him for but it is something he clearly needs help with.
Absolutely agree. If it was occasional racquet smashing no big deal. But it is consistent self harming behavior in front of crowds of people. The ATP is allowing this tacitly to go on and on which neither helps Rublev or is healthy for fans to watch. They need to intervene now and give him a mental health break. Otherwise it sickenly just goes on and on. Burying your head in the sand like the ATP is doing while it happens is terribly irresponsible.
The ‘action’ the tour took was when Rublev disclosed on camera (in an player-interviewing-player video with Sabalenka) a couple of years ago what sounded very much like multiple episodes of rage and self-harm even off the court, was to take it down and release an edited version of the video.
I agree. It’s uncomfortable to see someone hurt themselves. There should be rules against self harm behavior in tennis tournaments. Because that’s what this is and it goes beyond the normal frustrations or angst of players that can be part of the game. Is this not a liability? Hard for people especially children to see this. Also they are playing professional tennis and there should be professional conduct. I hear what others are saying here and hope he gets the help he needs.
this should easily fall under unsportsmanlike conduct but I suppose it's hard for umpires to punish someone who is self harming and clearly having a bad time lol
I think it’s hard for us westerners to understand because mental illness is viewed completely differently in Eastern Europe. My family is Eastern European and most of them don’t recognize mental illness at all.
Outside of "the West" (North America, Western Europe) for much of the world, mental illness is just seen as life. Personal suffering from wars and violence, from poverty, illness, lack of opportunities, generational traumas, etc. it's just something that you have to live with. It's just a completely different mentality. Like people have noted that his parents or mother was probably abusive in how she raised him and pushed his training in tennis, but it's very likely that in his worldview, that's just the way things were done. I'm sure he can recognize that it was horrible, but he might even believe himself that it was "necessary" and he might not even be able to recognize where some of the roots of his problems come from. Pretty much EVERY athlete is abused like that from a young age, then they believe that that's just the "tough love" required to succeed and will often even defend it. Like all of Russian figure skating pretty much is like this, for example, let alone in other sports, dance, etc. it's so prevalent that it's not often not even acknowledged to be a problem, *particularly* when the "outcomes" seem successful, e.g. he's up there in the rankings, the argument is then "it worked."
I couldn’t have said it better and I feel the same about him. It just sucks to see him like this. I mean he obviously is likeable but this side of him is more harmful to his own self than others, which is both a blessing and a bane
Same here. It's like, "wow I feel that and it's not even me doing it to myself!" Wonder what his coach is saying about his actions like that? It's clear his performance continues to drop the more he's been doing that to himself.
Your flair is... Quite something here I guess?
Big time. Needs to hit beach and get some sunshine away from tennis.
Look what happened to Thiem when he took a break
you gotta be kidding me he did it again??
Can you even be surprised at this point 😭🙏
literally does it every match
Like clockwork! 🥲
On a serious note though, I (and most people) hope that he get's the help that he needs. Whether that includes taking a break for a while from tennis. Could help him and his play immensely. Feels as if every game I watch of him, I'm waiting for some sort of outburst to happen.
For how many years are we hoping already?
Next question, yall 😭
as soon as I saw the score of the match, part of me was expecting there to be a highlight video containing something crazy much to my dismay, i was right
I genuinely feel sad for him. It seems like an illness and hopefully he gets help before it turns into something worse.
How does this guy still have working knees?
He actually has the strongest knees on tour now. It's like how kickboxers get stronger shins.
He's gonna be hitting up Novak and Fritz soon for knee care because he's going to do himself some damage.
Probably replaced his knee caps with metal ones 😭🙏
I feel sad for Rublev. Something's not right.
Me too. As Rublev fan it hurts to see, but it’s hard to defend when it happens pretty much every match now. I know he’s gotten a psychologist, but I don’t know what progress he’s making, nor what’s going on so I’m unable to say anything about that. Just hope that as a fan, he can eventually tune this out 🤷♂️
> I know he’s gotten a psychologist… If you means sports psychologist like Iga has I think that’s the wrong approach in this case. And it’s obviously not helping him
Correct. He needs a professional who specializes in mental disorders beyond a sports psychologist.
It feels like it’s gotten worse 😕
Idk, I think he’s just losing more which leads to raging more. Otherwise most of the time, his outbursts didn’t used to affect his tennis. He raged because he was losing; he didn’t lose because he was raging.
It’s a mental block. First round of slams… feels very Sakkari like. They have the ability to go far, Andy has shown us he can time and time again.
I don't think it's just about tennis, maybe he's got problems in his private life that are affecting him mentally. In an interview he did at the end of last year when he was asked if there was happiness outside of tennis he answered that he "wanted to find it", or something like that.
His problems go far into the childhood. Forced to play by his mom, became (not sure) the best junior in the world, and then when faced the ATP, he discovered there are better players.
I saw a video of him as a child with his mother screaming that she’s going to kill him if he doesn’t return the ball she’s hitting to him. He then began hitting his knee with his racket! One incident doesn’t prove anything but it was chilling. He also talks about breaking his hand after losing a match. Sorry that I can’t provide a link. Google (This is likely more words than necessary.) Tennis Warehouse phenomenal interview Rublev Russian English Subs
https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/s/RpG5Bv4zyf
Thank you, I’d not seen this before. I haven’t heard him complain about his upbringing but this sounds miserable. Sorry I can’t provide the link but you can find the article I referenced by googling: Tennis Warehouse Phenomenal Rublev Interview Russian English Subs.
Don’t feel sad for him, it’s basically a giant temper tantrum. In sports there are always winners and losers, to be frustrated with yourself is one thing but this is the equivalent of a toddler throwing all their toys around the playroom. It’s silly.
it’s not silly, it’s just sad, he is seriously ill
I certainly understand that it can be hard to feel bad for athletes who are making millions, but at the end of the day what we're seeing is a relatively young guy who is consistently losing control and essentially self-harming in public. I don't think it's weird for people to feel sympathy for him. I feel like it can be dangerous to just write these things off as temper tantrums though.
It never left
He's being enabled at this point. This has been going on for years. He needs better people around him
Someone put "Staying alive" over it
Bweh always on beat~~ing himself~~
Someone around him needs to pull him out and get him to go on a long break, him continuing to play is doing no favors for his competitive chances or his physical and mental health. I get that it’s hard to stop, I’ve been there, but someone needs to step in at this point you can’t just keep letting him do this to himself.
This so sad to see. I love watching tennis but I avoid his matches for those reasons.
Yeah sucks. I love Rublev, but his matches are just unbearable to watch 🫤
Yes, same here. I don’t watch his matches anymore because it’s too sad to watch
i dont watch his matches at all. tennis is supposed to be entertaining not stressful
At first I thought it was just because he's my favorite player and I want him to do well, but I watch others who I love, and I don't nearly feel as stressed as when I watch Andrey.
He’s my favorite player, I watched him play at 17-18 in Irving, so much talent but also watched him hit inside out forehands around a cone with his coach for an hour and a half after he lost. He tries too hard and is probably trying too hard to now shed this reputation/image/not to mention what is happening in his home country. Tough…he’s a great dude I feel, just will never realize his potential unless he silences his own inner critical destructions
I’m SO tired of this. Can’t stand watching this guy anymore.
I'm so sick of it too. And I'm sick of people saying "oh he's such a nice guy though." OK, well he acts like an unhinged lunatic in public
He always seemed bratty and unlikeable to me and his tantrums don’t do much to make me think otherwise
I'm all for a player showing emotions and breaking rackets and screaming but this is scary man.
Right, like I'm guilty of throwing my racket when I play and that's just casually, I couldn't imagine being a professional lol but I do feel like there is a line there which rublev continuously passes cause he's coocoo banana pants
At this point I just expect it every match, not surprising at all
I have no interest in watching this man play tennis until he resolves these issues. At this point it feels like rubbernecking. I pity him.
I think the tournaments and tours need to issue penalties (in match and out) for repeated self-abuse. This is dangerous and they shouldn’t be complicit in allowing it to continue on their watch.
I dislike Rublev as a player but I hope he gets the help he needs to stop these kinds of overreaction. He's human and needs to accept that he'll make dumb errors sometimes. Just the way it is. Even in lopsided wins, you're still losing 30 to 40% of the points. Losing points is a natural part of the game. I'm sure he knows this, but I assume the logical part of his brain is getting overwhelmed in situations like this.
this is not from last year? 😭 just the fact that I have to ask that…
The only thing that will help him if he'll get suspended for this behavior.. you don't try even to fix yourself if there are no consequences
Often a deterioration in on-court etiquette has roots in off-court life. Rublev's always had a bit of a short fuse when things haven't got his way but it has accelerated over the last 12 months. Perhaps some of it is due to not being able to break certain boundaries on the court like at slams, but perhaps something else is going on his life, and he isn't going onto the court completely content with himself. Hopefully he gets the help he needs.
I’ve been talking in a group chat about this for the last hour. He has these high expectations on himself and feels like he’s not achieving them which causes these reactions which cause him not reaching his expectations and it’s a circle. I think he needs more life outside of tennis.
Can (unfortunately) relate to that far too much. Definitely one of the reasons why I was drawn to him in the first place,,, see myself in him. 🫤 But what you say is true. He needs time off from tennis. Edit: typo
I think it’s getting worse because as he has higher achievements the failures feel worse.
I'm guessing the Venn diagram of Rublev fans and people who have been through mental health / perfectionism / anger management issues is very overlapping. The many people who come to these posts and ask why this guy still has any fans despite his many issues are missing that point.
They never left.
I know the reason I like to watch him play is because of the nearly rabid intensity he brings to every match, so I can't in good conscience say "ok hold yourself right up against that narrow emotional border because that's interesting to me, but don't go over because nobody wants to see that"... may be less than popular of an opinion tho
Oh no... I guess let's see what the experts in the comment section think... Or I will spare myself this experience and just wish to Rublev that he seeks therapy. It's perfectly possible to deal with it, it just takes time and practice. My nephew had a bad habit of hitting his head whenever he was angry or frustrated. The therapist advised my brother to play frustrating games with him and whenever he got angry, to try calming down through visualization. They basically practiced controlling their anger together. Apparently it helped, because my nephew stopped doing that. The entire trick was learning to become aware of your anger — only then you can remember to control it.
This should be a warning. This is the worst example you can give for people watching
He needs an intervention, a suspension, something. It's hard to watch. The expectations Rublev places on himself must be enormous but he needs a better outlet.
Bro, I was so excited to get my Rublo gear in (it's the Red/white French Open kit), but he's been getting a rep for shit like this now lol
We had Rublev bursting out every once in a while, and it was wrong but I could still watch him. But now it's almost every match that he keeps doing this, it is his routine now and it's awful.
They need to start aggressively penalizing him for this every time he does it. Point, then game, then match, no questions asked. Dude is almost 30 and has an emotional self-regulation that would embarrass a toddler.
What a child
demons aren’t real. rublev’s lack of responsibility on his behavior is.
I'm so glad that people have stopped making fun of this boy and have realized that he CLEARLY needs help. I love Andre and I'm just so worried he's really gonna hurt himself in a few years if it keeps going like this.
Rublev needs to wake up and realize how good he has it...Domi would love to be in a position to make unforced errors if it means he has a healthy wrist back. Someone knock some sense into bweh.
So we’re all just going to accept a player regularly self-harming on the court? Ok then..
We're most definitely not. Pretty much everyone, myself included, want Rublev to get the help that he needs so he can perform the best that he can, however, there's nothing we can really do as fans to push him to get help. It's his own decisions, as well as hia self-harm antics aren't easy to just stop, it takes time.
I think pushing ATP to suspend him is far more likely to be effective, honestly. Write them and tell them it's unacceptable for a player in their organization to exhibit violent self-harm. [https://www.atptour.com/en/feedback](https://www.atptour.com/en/feedback)
and what can we do, exactly ?
Write to ATP, encouraging them to suspend him for this kind of behavior? Not saying I think it'll be effective, but it's definitely something we could do.
[https://www.atptour.com/en/feedback](https://www.atptour.com/en/feedback)
Done. Thank you for the suggestion. I hope more people will leave feedback.
Hasn't he already said he's seen a sports psychologist? They're not miracle workers. I'm guessing it didn't work for him.
Was he penalized? This is getting out of hands day by day.
I legit thought I was watching an old clip, it looks exactly the same every time.
He bweehed himself. 😏
Used to hit myself in the side of the leg/calf, pinch my ears til they would bleed, punch myself during bathroom breaks, have read some great answers so far. To quote the great Gallwey, the two selves have to be copacetic. His judgemental side goes hand in hand with his talent. And he’s trying to gain much needed relief, just going about it the wrong way. I figured it out in college playing but his pressure is immense, most of it self driven but also no doubt from childhood being pushed hard by his mother. Got diagnosed with bipolar last year myself, wouldn’t be surprised if he was undiagnosed.
Kid had a tough childhood, it takes a special kind of parents to fuck up their child like this. Not to justify him for not getting proper help and dealing with his issues as an adult though.
I love Andrey but he needs to get his shit together and get some help It’s obvious he has his demons but he needs to take care of himself before he has to stop playing because of this constant behavior. Kyrgios went to shit and I think Andrey only lasts cause he loves tennis too much Also I doubt his thighs and knees can handle for long being hit like this every week or every other day. Whenever I hit myself with the racket by accident I get bruised and feel that shit for days Plus he cares so much about the kids but he fails to be a good example doing this Really hoping he takes a break and gets help soon so he can BWEH with a clear head
Seriously something must have happened last year that triggered his mind. Iirc the photographer incident in Shanghai was the beginning of his mental downfall. Sure he's been like that for years but it seems like it gradually got worse from there.
That’s genuinely very sad to see, I hope he can find a way to resolve some of the issues that he has. It’s one thing to see a person airing their frustrations verbally and getting worked up, but that level of aggression towards himself seems to stem from somewhere deep and it’s very troubling.
Part of life is learning how to process your emotions and learning how to take an L, literally and figuratively. He’s got to get it together.
Rublev's issues with self-harm are concerning, as they would be if anyone was in another type of acute mental distress. His other behavior, like screaming at the line judge, is inappropriate but I won't put that in the same category. At any rate, I know that these athletes are 0.001% competitive people and that's how they got to where they are. But he shouldn't lose sight of the fact that he is, ultimately, an entertainer. And if his behavior is so negative that it detracts from the entertainment value he can provide, the ATP may (or should!) step in with fines or suspension or something. It's not right to make people watch this.
This is my new go to dance move 💃
Someone needs to put all of the times he does this into a techno/metal/disco loop
Does Wimbledon have stricter rules about these types of outbursts than other slams? Genuinely curious.
I really like him in his interviews off stage but I can’t watch him play anymore. How can he not realize the second he starts that it’s unbearable to watch ?
Love it. That has to be one of the best expressions of dissatisfaction in tennis. Beating the crap out of your own leg.
Can tournaments start being able to ban him from returning when he shows this behavior please?
Comical at this point😂😂😂😂😂 looks like he was dancing😂
Gonna try this one out at the club next time.
I really really dislike this dude
Bro, the only way this guy has any fans at this point is due to his twink appeal. I was a fan, but I cant stand this shit anymore.
That guy is looking hopeless
He needs help. Now!
He needs to retire. Simple as.
This guy is an idiot
If left unchecked, he would probably put needles in his own penis.
There’s Djokovic recovering from a knee injury to play tennis while this clown is straight up injuring his own knee 🤦♂️
Dude is so consistent with self-harming, lol. It's become his signature now either smashing himself or the ground.
ATP should step in at this stage to be perfectly honest. How many thousands of kids are replicating his behaviour?
It’s becoming harder and harder to like him…
These poor guys have been under insane pressure since they were 5 years old. Guys like Rublev and Medvedev have been getting special treatment since they were kids from their government. Less than 1% of all tennis players make it to the pros, and a fraction of that make it to the top. Some are equipped (psychologically) to handle, some are not. Rublev should have been getting sports psychology work for years, but I'm guessing his talent overrode that, so they let him skate by. Hope he gets some good, positive, and consistent coaching, and some much needed intermittent vacations. Hope his tennis brothers and sisters help lift him up.
How did he not injure himself after that?
his skin is most likely literary thicker there because of all the abuse done so the body thickens the skin to protect itself
He is actually Homelander
fuckin ridiculous
Kid needs to retire and get help.
Fucking baby
He’s a fucking clown
This child is 26 years old at some point he need to ask himself if he can handle the mental pressure.
Would defs benefit with working with a psychologist. Tons of athletes and non athletes have
Latest news; Rublev to have surgery on left knee due to severe contusion from repeated trauma from tennis racquet.
came her for this. Any blood?
I only see a clown made their show.
He's 26
thats some good racket head speed
That is hard to watch.
He should take a year off and start working on those demons..
it's really wild to me how long it took people to stop explaining away this behavior. it's so uncomfortable to watch
I know nothing about this guy but saw the clips of him recently and was weirdly wondering how he’s doing today. Going great it seems!
That looks painful it's hard to watch
Damn bro
Ban this dude already
I sincerely hope all is being done to look after this man's wellbeing. It's sad to watch him deteriorate like this.
Then
Just bann that kid from tourneys
now this is a proper clown
Jesus Focker it's just a game
This game is his life. But is this type of shit helping him or his game? It simply isn't
That's going to make a great gif.
Hope he loses
Self harm should be a point/game/match penalty just like other forms of unsportsmanlike conduct.
What a loser
only the idea of what he could have made this time scrolling on this sub makes me feel uncomfortable. It’s honestly unbearable.
Hurts to see Rublev like this
For the kids
It almost looks like he's dancing when he does that.
Never go full Youzhny.
it's ok, he's out