Tennis star Andrey Rublev stood by his decision to write an anti-war message on a camera following one of his matches. After defeating Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) in the semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February, the 25-year-old took the opportunity to send a very poignant message.
The Russian wrote 'No War Please’ on a camera after advancing to the final of the tournament, which he went on to win. He also wrote ‘Peace, Peace, Peace, All we need’ after winning a match at the Nitto ATP Finals in November, nine months after Russia ’s invasion of Ukraine. It has been a tumultuous year for the world No.8 and his Russian and Belarusian counterparts, who were frozen out of British tennis events as a result of the invasion - most notably Wimbledon, which he described as "complete discrimination" back in April.
But despite the challenges he has had to overcome this year, Rublev says he is proud of speaking out against the invasion. “I don’t like to talk about myself and to say good things about myself, I can only judge myself,” he shared. “That’s why last year especially with the situation happening in the world you feel that maybe you don’t deserve and when you feel support from people, especially in Turin, I have never felt something like that before. It was a really special moment.
"One of the best things I did this year was the message I left in Dubai. It was the most meaningful thing that I could do during the year. In my case, I am super lucky. I cannot say anything or complain because I am able to play and travel. In my position I am super lucky but there are millions of people who suffer and it’s terrible.”
On Wednesday, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was fined a total of just over £800,000 after banning Russian and Belarusian players from competing in UK events this year. Rublev’s mother Marina Marenko saw the toll the war and negative perception of Russians took on her son. “The year for Andrey was very difficult – there was a lot of pressure from the public, the media and journalists,” she said.
“If this whole situation did not exist, then, of course, the results would be more successful. Post-match press conferences were given to Andrey hard. The journalists tried in every possible way to provoke, and this put pressure on the still fragile psyche of my son.”
The Russian has still managed to have an impressive year on tour, winning four titles and compiling a 51-20 win-loss record, including a victory over Novak Djokovic in the Serbia Open final. However, he is still struggling to replicate that form in the grand slams or at Masters 1000 level. The tennis star has yet to reach the quarter-finals of a major and has not won a title above ATP 500 level.
When asked what his ambitions are for 2023, Rublev said: “The goal is simple: to improve. I still have a lot of room to improve game-wise, mentally, to analyse the year, analyse all the things I did wrong, all the matches that I behaved wrong, the matches where I was able to have a strong mentality, and to focus in that direction and try to do less wrong things during the season.”
