The key facts

  • Rublev swore using obscene language in a second-round ATP-250 match in Almaty against Mannarino — according to Championat.com
  • The incident occurred in the eighth game of the deciding set on the Russian's serve
  • Rublev lost the match 4:6, 6:3, 3:6

Incident in the match against Mannarino

Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev, during a second-round match at an ATP-250 category tournament in Almaty, swore using obscene language during one of the rallies. This was reported by Championat.com. The Russian's opponent was Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. During the eighth game of the deciding set on Rublev's serve, Mannarino executed a quality return, after which the Russian hit an unsuccessful shot sending the ball out of the court. According to the publication, Rublev exclaimed: 'This is some kind of nightmare! How can you return like that?', accompanying his words with profanity.

Result of the match

The match ended with Rublev's defeat with the score 4:6, 6:3, 3:6.

About the athlete and context

Rublev is the 2020 Olympic champion in mixed doubles alongside Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, winner of 21 ATP tournaments (17 of them in singles), holder of the 2021 Davis Cup and the 2021 ATP Cup as part of the Russian team. In 2022, the International Tennis Federation suspended the membership of the Tennis Federation of Russia and the Tennis Federation of Belarus: athletes from these countries may compete in WTA and ATP tournaments only in a neutral status, and Russian and Belarusian tennis players are barred from participating in the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup. Earlier at the tournament in Almaty, Karen Khachanov started with a victory.