A month after his meltdown at the French Open, Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev sparked concerns about his mental health when he unleashed a furious tirade against himself during the round one match at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday. The sixth seed later lost 6-4 5-7 6-2 7-6(5) to world No.122 Francisco Comesana of Argentina, playing his first match at a Grand Slam.
The incident happened in the fourth game of the third set, after the two players had shared a set each. Comesana broke Rublev for the second time in the set to take a 4-1 lead, which sparked a furious reaction from Rublev. He smashed his racquet seven times over his knee, leaving it bloody and bruised for the rest of the match.
In May, during his third-round loss at the Roland Garros, Rublev, who had a similar episode, admitted “I don’t remember behaving worse at a Slam ever” after he kicked and screamed his way out of the match with a straight-set loss.
Rublev failed to fight back after the incident and struggled to regain his composure. On the other hand, the Argentinian, who fired 21 aces in the match, powered through the rain-interrupted third set and later outdid Rublev in the tight fourth set with guile and accuracy before drawing an unforced error from the Russian to finish the match in style.
The 26-year-old Russian, who recorded his worst-ever Wimbledon show, a year after making his first quarters at the grass-court major, later opened up on his meltdown. Speaking to Mail Sport, he said: “I would not do it if I was able to hit the racquet on the floor… because we’re not allowed to hit them with the grass. I don’t know why in that moment, I couldn’t take it any more. I needed to let emotions out. But thanks, everything is fine. Again, I was a bit lucky.
“It is clearly a problem that Rublev knows is not one that comes with a quick fix – but he needs to get to grips with his emotions on court. Of course, I didn’t behave today as in Paris, but still I could do much better. This is not the way. Of course, it’s the main priority, to be able during all the match to be positive,” he said.
