Shubenkov made a breakthrough by finishing 2nd to Britain's Lawrence Clarke at the 2009 European Athletics Junior Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia. Shubenkov went on to win the European under-23 title in 2011. His first Worlds competition was at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea where he finished 25th in the heats and did not advance into the semi-finals.