Bublik's admission: "I considered ending my career at the beginning of the year"

A whimsical player, Alexander Bublik delighted on the ATP tour this year. The world number 11, however, seemed close to ending his professional career a few months ago.

© AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 29/11/2025 à 11h40

2 min to read

Bublik

Alexander Bublik is known for being an unpredictable player. The current world number 11 can put on a show when he is on the court and have real strokes of brilliance, but he does not approach every match with the same seriousness. But this year, the 28-year-old player had a wake-up call.

With four tournaments won on the main tour on three different surfaces (Halle, Gstaad, Kitzbühel, and Hangzhou), the native of Gatchina in Russia is only surpassed by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the ranking of trophies won on the ATP tour in 2025. He also played his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland-Garros.

"I was very dissatisfied with myself at the end of last season"

However, Bublik's trajectory could have taken a very different path in recent months. In an interview with the German media Tennis Magazin, the player who has represented Kazakhstan since the start of his professional career in 2016 revealed that he was not so far from retiring. An idea that matured in recent months after an already complicated end to the 2024 season for him.

"I was very dissatisfied with myself at the end of last season, and even at the start of this one. I even considered ending my career at the beginning of the year, because I was afraid of falling out of the top 100, which would have changed everything. After Indian Wells, I went to Las Vegas for three days to clear my head, but in reality, I was quite worried.

From there, it was as if I was embarking on a mission. I tried to maintain the diversity of my game, and I suddenly became much more stable. I also slightly modified my training, for example by significantly improving my forehand, especially on clay.

I gained a lot of confidence during the Challenger tournaments, fighting to climb back up the rankings. I improved my physical condition and I changed rackets, which was decisive, by opting for a much lighter model, with a weight of 291 grams," assured Bublik, who is very close to the top 10, in recent hours.