Alexander Bublik

Alexander Stanislavovich Bublik(Александр Станиславович Бублик; born 17 June 1997) is a Kazakhstani professionaltennisplayer. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in singles by theATP, achieved in May 2024, and is the current Kazakhstani No. 1 player.Bublik also has a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 47, attained on 8 November 2021.
Bublik has won fourATP Toursingles titles and been a runner-up in seven further finals, and he achieved his greatest success at amajorat the2021 French Openas the runner-up in doubles partneringAndrey Golubev.
Alexander Stanislavovich Bublik was born on 17 June 1997 inGatchina, Russia and began playing tennis at the age of four. He was coached by his father, Stanislav.
On the junior tour, Bublik reached a career-high ranking of No. 19 and won eleven titles (six singles and five doubles) on theInternational Tennis Federation(ITF) junior circuit.
Bublik began 2016 ranked World No. 964. He won his first Futures title in Doha in April 2016, followed by titles in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sweden.
Bublik made hisATPmain-draw debut at the2016 St. Petersburg Open, where he received wildcards into both the singles and doubles main draw.
Bublik qualified for theKremlin Cup, where he notched the biggest win of his career, upsettingRoberto Bautista Agutin straight sets in the round of 16. He then lost a tight three-set match to the eventual championPablo Carreño Busta.
In November 2016, Bublik announced that he would represent Kazakhstan.
By the end of the year, Bublik's ranking had skyrocketed to No. 205.
After qualifying for theAustralian Open, Bublik defeated 16th-seededLucas Pouillein his first Grand Slam match.
In February, Bublik won his first Challenger title at the Morelos Open, defeatingNicolas Jarryin the final.
AtWimbledon, Bublik received a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser. He was defeated by world No. 1 Andy Murray in his first Wimbledon appearance.
Bublik won his second Challenger title in Aptos. In September, after making the semifinals of a Challenger tournament in Istanbul, Bublik broke into the top 100 for the first time, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 95.
Bublik struggled for much of the 2018 season, seeing his ranking drop into the 200s. However, he prevailed in his last event of the year, winning eight matches to capture the Challenger title in Bratislava.
Bublik was successful early on in 2019, winning his fourth Challenger title in Budapest, followed shortly by another title at Pau.
Bublik earned his first Masters 1000 win in Miami, winning two qualifying matches and defeatingTennys Sandgrenin a third-set tiebreak.
His next tournament was in Monterrey, where he again defeated Sandgren in a third-set tiebreak en route to his sixth Challenger title. This win propelled Bublik back into the top 100.
Bublik won his first Roland Garros main-draw match overRudolf Molleker, before losing a close four-set contest to eventual finalistDominic Thiem.
At the tournament in Newport, Bublik reached his first ATP final, where he was defeated by the top seedJohn Isner.
Bublik had a successful US Open campaign, where he won two consecutive five-set matches. He came back from two sets to love down againstThomas Fabbianoto reach his first Grand Slam third round.
Bublik reached his second ATP 250 final of the season in Chengdu, where he defeated top-30 playersTaylor FritzandGrigor Dimitrov, before losing the final in a third-set tiebreak toPablo Carreño Busta. The result helped him to reach a new career-high of No. 48 in November.
At the2020 Australian OpenBublik reached his first semifinal at a Grand Slam in doubles partnering fellow KazakhMikhail Kukushkinwhere they lost to Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury.
Bublik reached the semifinals ofMarseille, where he lost toStefanos Tsitsipasin straight sets. As alucky loser, Bublik reached the quarterfinals ofHamburg, beatingAlbert Ramos ViñolasandFélix Auger-Aliassime, before losing toCristian Garínin 3 sets.
He had his first top-10 victory againstGaël Monfilsat the2020 French Open, but lost toLorenzo Sonegoin the second round.
Bublik started his 2021 season at theAntalya Open. Seeded eighth, he reached his third ATP 250 final, notching his second top-10 victory against top seed and world No. 10,Matteo Berrettini, in the quarterfinals.He was forced to retire in the final after trailing 0–2 in the first set againstAlex de Minaur.
In theGreat Ocean Road Open, he lost in the third round toStefano Travaglia. At theAustralian Open, he lost in the second round toDušan Lajovićin 4 sets.
He reached his fourth final inSingaporeafter beatingAltuğ Çelikbilek,Yoshihito NishiokaandRadu Albot. He lost toAlexei Popyrinin the final, 6–4 0–6, 2–6.
At the2021 Miami Open, Bublik reached the quarterfinals where he lost toJannik Sinner. This marked his best result at aMasters 1000event to date.
At the2021 Madrid Open, he defeatedDenis ShapovalovandAslan Karatsevto equal his previous Masters 1000 result, but lost toCasper Ruud. As a result, he achieved his career-high ranking of World No. 40 on 10 May 2021.
In only his sixth appearance at a Grand Slam in doubles, Bublik reached his second Grand Slam doubles semifinal in his career at the2021 French Openpartnering with fellow KazakhAndrey Golubevdefeating No. 5 seededIvan Dodig/Filip Polášek(second round), No. 11 seededWesley Koolhof/Jean-Julien Rojer(third round) andHugo Nys/Tim Pütz(quarterfinals) en route, his best showing at this Grand Slam.In the semifinal the Kazakh duo defeated the Spanish duoPablo Andújar/Pedro Martínezwho were both making their Grand Slam semifinals doubles debut.They played in the final against the French home favoritesNicolas Mahut/Pierre-Hugues Herbert,but they lost 6–4, 6–7, 4–6.As a result, he entered the top 50 in doubles at World No. 49 on 14 June 2021.
Bublik started his 2022 season at theAdelaide International 2. Seeded sixth, he lost in the first round to Australian wildcardAleksandar Vukic.At theAustralian Open, he was defeated in the second round by 17th seed and world No. 20,Gaël Monfils.
In February, Bublik reached his fifth ATP singles final at theOpen Sud de FranceinMontpellier. Seeded sixth, he defeatedTallon Griekspoor,qualifierPierre-Hugues Herbert,second seedRoberto Bautista Agut,and fifth seedFilip Krajinovićen route to the final.In the final, he defeated top seed and world No. 3,Alexander Zverev, to earn his first career win over a top-five player, as well as his first ATP singles title.At theRotterdam Open, he was eliminated from the tournament in the first round byAndy Murray.Seeded seventh at theQatar ExxonMobil Open, he lost in the second round toArthur Rinderknech.InDubai, he was beaten in the first round by fifth seed and world No. 11,Hubert Hurkacz.Representing Kazakhstan in theDavis Cuptie against Norway, he won both of his matches by beatingViktor Durasovicand world No. 8Casper Ruud.In the end, Kazakhstan won the tie over Norway 3–1 to reach the Davis Cup Finals.Seeded 31st at theIndian Wells Masters, he beat 2009 finalist and former world No. 1, Andy Murray, in the second round.He lost in the third round to 33rd seed and last year semifinalist,Grigor Dimitrov.Seeded 30th at theMiami Open, he was defeated in the third round by sixth seed, world No. 8, and eventual finalist, Casper Ruud.
Bublik started his clay-court season at theMonte-Carlo Masters. He beat 2014 champion,Stan Wawrinka, in the first round for his first win at this event.He retired during his second-round match against 13th seed and world No. 19,Pablo Carreño Busta, for no obvious reason.Seeded 16th at theBarcelona Open, he was beaten in the second round byEmil Ruusuvuori.Last year quarterfinalist at theMadrid Open, he lost in the first round toMiomir Kecmanović.Due to not defending his quarterfinalist points from last year, Bublik's ranking fell from 33 to 41. InRome, he was defeated in the first round by lucky loserMarcos Giron.Seeded eighth at theGeneva Open, he lost in the first round toKamil Majchrzak.At theFrench Open, he lost his second-round match to 28th seed, Miomir Kecmanović, in four sets.
Bublik started his grass-court season at theBOSS Openin Stuttgart. Seeded seventh, he lost in the second round to eventual finalist, Andy Murray.At theQueen's Club Championships, he was defeated in the second round by seventh seed, world No. 17, and two-time champion,Marin Čilić.InEastbourne, he beat seventh seed,Frances Tiafoe, in the first round.He was eliminated in the quarterfinals by third seed, world No. 14, 2019 champion, and eventual champion,Taylor Fritz.AtWimbledon, he reached the third round where he lost to 23rd seed and world No. 28, Frances Tiafoe, in four sets.
After Wimbledon, Bublik competed at theHall of Fame Open. Seeded third, he beat sixth seed, Andy Murray, in the quarterfinals.He then defeatedJason Kublerin the semifinals to reach his sixth ATP singles final, his second ATP singles final of the year, and his second Hall of Fame Open final.He lost in a thrilling final to fourth seedMaxime Cressy.
In August, Bublik played at theNational Bank Open. He lost in the first round toJenson Brooksby.Bublik then missed theWestern & Southern Open, and theWinston-Salem Opendue to the birth of his son Vasily.Returning to action at theUS Open, he was defeated in the second round by 12th seed, world No. 15, and two-time semifinalist, Pablo Carreño Busta.
In October at the first edition of theFirenze Open, he defeated in the first roundCristian Garínfor his 100th career match win.He was the second man representing Kazakhstan to record 100 tour-level wins in his career, after Mikhail Kukushkin, who had 172.
Bublik started his 2023 season by representing Kazakhstan at the first edition of theUnited Cup. Kazakhstan was in Group B alongside Switzerland and Poland. Against Switzerland, he lost toStan Wawrinka.Against Poland, he was defeated byHubert Hurkaczin three sets.In the end, Kazakhstan ended third in Group B. Seeded fifth at theASB Classicin Auckland, he lost in the first round toDavid Goffin.At theAustralian Open, he pushed 30th seed and world No. 32,Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, to five sets, but he ended up losing his first-round match.
After the Australian Open, Bublik represented Kazakhstan in theDavis Cuptie against Chile. He lost both of his matches toNicolás JarryandCristian Garín.In the end, Chile won the tie over Kazakhstan 3–1.Seeded sixth and defending champion at theOpen Sud de France, he was defeated in a dramatic first-round match byGrégoire Barrère.InRotterdam, he lost in the first round to doubles partner Stan Wawrinka.In doubles, he and Wawrinka upset second seeded teamNikola Mektić/Mate Pavićin the first round.They lost in their quarterfinal match to Belgian qualifiersSander Gillé/Joran Vliegen.At theOpen 13 Provence, he beat fourth seed and world No. 25,Grigor Dimitrov, in the quarterfinals in three sets; he saved two match points in the third set tie-breaker.He lost in the semifinals to top seed and world No. 11, Hubert Hurkacz, who would end up winning the tournament.At theDubai Championships, he was beaten in the second round by third seed, world No. 7, and eventual champion,Daniil Medvedev.During the week of 6 March, Bublik competed at theBNP Paribas Open. He lost in the first round to qualifierWu Tung-lin.Seeded fourth at theArizona Classic, he ousted defending champion,Denis Kudla, in the first round.He reached the quarterfinals where he lost to qualifierJan-Lennard Struff.InMiami, he was defeated in the first round byJ. J. Wolf.
Bublik started his clay-court season at theMonte-Carlo Masters. He fell in the first round to 13th seed and world No. 16,Alexander Zverev, in three sets.This was his first loss to Zverev after having led their Head to Head rivalry 2–0. InBarcelona, he lost in the first round toEmil Ruusuvuori.At theMadrid Open, he beatDaniel Elahi Galánin the first round after playing in the longest tie-break of the season so far.In the second round, he lost to sixth seed and world No. 7,Holger Rune, in three sets, despite having match point at 8–7 in the third set tie-break.Seeded sixth at theOpen Aix Provence, he made it to the quarterfinals where he was defeated by French lucky loserHarold Mayot.InRome, he reached the third round where he lost to world No. 4,Casper Ruud, in three sets.At theGeneva Open, he was eliminated in the first round byMarcos Giron.
InHalle, Bublik kicked off his grass court season with an upset over seventh seedBorna Ćorić, crushing Coric in straight sets. Bublik then emerged victorious in a close-fought hard three set win over Madrid Open finalistJan-Lennard Struff, to reach the quarterfinals. Bublik, in the quarterfinals, defeated Jannik Sinner by a second set retirement after he had won a riveting first set to reach the semifinals of an ATP 500 for the first time in his career. He then defeatedAlexander Zverevand reached the biggest final of his career. There Bublik played against third seedAndrey Rublev, with whom he had an 0–3 head-to-head record. Bublik sealed a thrilling three set victory to close out on the biggest title of his career and become the first Kazakhstani to win an ATP 500 singles title sinceAndrey Golubev's ATP World Tour 500 series title in 2010, inHamburg. As a result, Bublik soared 22 spots in the rankings to No. 26, his career highest singles ranking on 26 June 2023.He further reached a new career-high in the top 25 on 31 July 2023.
Bublik began his 2024 campaign at theAdelaide internationalATP 250 event in January. He beatJames Mcabe,Dan Evansand 25th ranked,Lorenzo Musettion his way to the semi-final, where he was beaten byJack Draperin two sets.Bublik would suffer a suprise upset at theAustralian Open1st round where he lost to 137th ranked qualifier,Sumit Nagalin straight sets.Following this Bublik competed at theOpen Sud de Francein Montpellier which he had previously won in 2022.Bublik won the tournament claiming his fourth ATP singles title, defeatingDenis Shapovalov,Alexander Shevchenko,Felix Auger-AliassimeandBorna Coric. Bublik lost the opening set in all four of his matches making him the only player to win an ATP singles tournament having lost the opening set of each match.
At theDubai ChampionshipsBublik was victorious in two close matches, first againstTomas Machacin the round of 32 then against 28th ranked,Tallon Griekspoorin the round of 16. In the quarter final his opponentJiri Leheckawould retire after trailing 6-4, 4-1. Bublik next faced world number 5,Andrey Rublevin the semi-final. In a closely fought match Rublev won the first set in a tie-break, despite Bublik having led 3-0 at the beginning of the set. In the second set Bublik won in another tie-break. In the final set after Bublik held serve to lead 6-5, Rublev shouted in the face of a line judge resulting in him being defaulted forunsportsmanlike conduct.As a result Bublik went through to the final where he facedUgo Humbert. Bublik lost the final 4-6, 3-6 having been broken twice.Bublik received media attention after giving his racket to a ball kid in the middle of a match at theMonte-Carlo asters.He would go on to suffer a heavy defeat toBorna Coriclosing 1-6, 1-6 in the round of 32. In the following tournament at theMadrid Open, Bublik beat world number 15,Ben Sheltonon his less favoured surface, clay 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. Bublik would subsequently lose toDaniil Medvedevin the round of 16. On the 6th of May Bublik reached a career high singles ranking of 17.
At theLyon OpenATP 250 event in May, Bublik reached the semi-final where he lost to newcomer and eventual championGiovanni Mpetshi Perricard, 4-6, 5-7.Bublik went out in the straight sets at the second round of Roland Garros againstJan-Lennard Struff. At Wimbledon Bublik won in the opening round againstJakub Mensikafter having lost the opening two sets. He then beatArthur Cazauxin straight sets to reach the third round. Bublik would lose to world number 13Tommy Paulin straight sets in the third round losing 3-6, 4-6, 2-6.
Bublik had a poor second half of the season. Losing nine of his eleven matches from theParis Olympicsto the end of the season. This resulted in Bublik dropping from his career high ranking to world number 33.
Bublik has participated three times in theKazakhstan Davis Cup teamsince 2019 and as of 2022, he has a win–loss record of 9–4 in singles and 3–2 in doubles inDavis Cupcompetition.In 2021, he elaborated on his motivation when playing at the Davis Cup by explaining, "I take Davis Cup more seriously than [the] singles Tour because I'm not only playing for myself, but I play for the country, for the fans, and it's extra." Despite his more sporadic record on the ATP Tour, Bublik reiterated that, "In Davis Cup, I don't have 30 weeks to have good behaviour, bad behaviour, good match or bad match. I think I just go on court and try to be the best now, do what I can do now at the special moment."
He made his Davis Cup debut at the2019 qualifying roundin his singles match against Portugal'sJoão Sousa, where he won in three sets to help Kazakhstan advance to the2019 Finals.At the Finals, Bublik narrowly lost toRobin Haaseof the Netherlands in three sets, but he teamed up withMikhail Kukushkinto win the deciding doubles match against Haase andJean-Julien Rojerand seal their firsttiewin.In Kazakhstan's tie against Great Britain, Bublik played his second singles match, where he defeatedDan Evans, but he lost his doubles match with Kukushkin toJamie MurrayandNeal Skupski. With the loss against Great Britain, Kazakhstan lost in the group stage and thus, ended their campaign.
Bublik played thefollowing year's qualifying round, where they faced off against Netherlands once more. He won his first singles match againstTallon Griekspoorand his second against Haase, both in straight sets, and brought his team through to the2021 Finals.At the Finals, Bublik took on Sweden'sMikael Ymerand won in three sets to help his team win the tie.He maintained his momentum against Canada'sVasek Pospisilin their next tie to win in straight sets to bring Kazakhstan to its sixth quarterfinal at the Davis Cup.There, Bublik succumbed toSerbia'sNovak Djokovicin straight sets and the team ultimately lost its tie to end their campaign.
In 2022, Representing Kazakhstan at theDavis Cuptie versus Norway, he won both of his matches beatingViktor DurasovicandCasper Ruud. In the end, Kazakhstan won the tie over Norway 3–1.After theUS Open, Bublik represented Kazakhstan in theDavis Cup Group stage. Kazakhstan is in Group D alongside The Netherlands, the US, and Great Britain. Against the Netherlands, he lost toBotic van de Zandschulp;however, he won the doubles tie withAleksandr NedovyesovbeatingWesley Koolhof/Matwé Middelkoop. The Netherlands won the tie over Kazakhstan 2–1.Against the US, he lost to Taylor Fritz,but he won doubles again with Nedovyesov defeatingRajeev Ram/Jack Sock.The USA ended up winning the tie 2–1.
At the2020 Summer Olympics, Bublik made his tennis Olympics debut, where he played Russia'sDaniil Medvedevin the first round and lost in straight sets.
At 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in), Bublik possesses a powerful serve and led the2021 ATP Tourin the number ofacesserved throughout the season.His unpredictable and capricious game style on court has often caught opponents off-guard through his occasional use of the underarm serve and tendency to add trick shots in his matches.His style has drawn comparisons to that ofNick Kyrgios, who also developed a reputation for often playing in an unorthodox manner.
Bublik is also known for his irreverence to the sport and casual approach to practicing. He described his unexpected run to the 2021 French Open doubles final as a "pure accident", and explained that he did not treat doubles as professional tennis, but as a way to "make some extra money, hang around, make some jokes."In a 2020 interview withL'Équipe, Bublik also stated that he lamented the sport and the financial incentives were what kept him going: "If there was no money, I would stop playing tennis instantly. I haven’t earned enough money; in any other case I would have already retired."However, in 2022, he contradicted these statements, saying for Good Morning Tennis that "over time, and it's been three years since that interview, things have changed a lot and [I] love playing tennis now because [I] realized that's what [I] wanted to do as a kid".
In the2023 US Open, Bublik was defeated in first round by former US Open championDominic Thiemin straight sets. However, Bublik's lack of sportsmanship was heavily criticized by the tennis community and fans. Bublik was recorded on television uttering in Russian, "I am sick of giving careers back to disabled people", an apparent reference to Thiem's recent recovery from injuries. This was later condemned by fellow tennis playerNick Kyrgiosas "horrible".Throughout the game, Bublik also received code violation after smashing his racket, he then proceeded to question his team why he kept losing, and said he no longer wanted to travel to the US Open.
In November 2016, Bublik changed his allegiance from that of his home country of Russia’s federation to the tennis federation ofKazakhstanin search of better financial support from the national tennis federation.
Bublik joined several other players by switching to playing for Kazakhstan, explaining:
Bublik and his wife Tatiyana Bublik had their first child, a son, Vasily, in 2022.
In 2023, Bublik was named as a reserve member of the Levitov Chess Wizards team in theProfessional Rapid Online Chess League.
Current through the2025 Qatar Open.