“He made me realize many things, and then I started to work with a psychologist.” Earlier this year, Andrey Rublev credited a special person, and compatriot, who helped him through his stressful phase. One where he didn’t even “see the reason of living life.” Known for his infamous outbursts on the court, the World No.9 has had a tough time lately in terms of delivering consistent performances. Since May 2024, he couldn’t clinch a single trophy until last month when he beat Jack Draper to win the Qatar Open for the second time in his career. Despite the Qatar Open title, Rublev’s overall journey has been far from smooth in 2025. And it’s no surprise he has brought a familiar face to his coaching camp, one who urged him to work with a psychologist earlier.

Since last July, Rublev has lost his composure on the court quite frequently, leading to extreme reactions. After he received a shocking first-round defeat in the 2024 Wimbledon, at the hands of the World No. 122 Francisco Comesana, the Russian slipped into a negative frame of mind. Per him, “That was the worst moment that I face about myself.”

The 27-year-old got so frustrated that he began hurting himself during the matchs. Playing against Francisco Cerundolo in the first round of the Paris Masters last season, he smashed the racket onto his knee out of sheer frustration. But guess who he has turned to, to provide him the much-needed mental stability? It’s the former Russian ATP icon and two-time Slam champion Marat Safin.

Safin has joined Rublev’s team for the remaining part of the 2025 season. Renowned journalist Sofya Tartakova revealed the news on social media, citing reports from the Russian outlet Bolshe. While Safin will be one of Rublev’s coaches, the ATP pro’s current Spanish trainer Fernando Vicente will remain in his primary position. Safin, however, will add a new voice to the team to provide more insight to improve Rublev’s campaigns in the upcoming events.

For the unversed, Safin himself was known for his extreme outbursts on the court. To put it into perspective, ‘The Man of Fire‘ broke 1,055 rackets in his career, as reported by ATP’s website in 2020. At one point, he even smashed a racket over his head! But towards the end of his career, he eventually managed to cool down. Perhaps that’s the reason why Rublev may have chosen him to provide him the much-needed mental stability.

Throwing light on Safin’s positive impact on him in last few months, Rublev said, “I learn a lot about myself and while I don’t feel in a happy mood or the happy place I would like to be I don’t feel any more that crazy anxiety and stress of not understanding what to do with my life,” as reported by Guardian in January.

With Safin by his side, Rublev will look to prepare in the best possible manner ahead of the clay court tournaments coming up. The 27-year-old has previously shone on this surface a lot.

Andrey Rublev believes “real tennis” is all about clay

Two years ago, Andrey Rublev was having a blast across ATP events. Especially the ones having clay as the primary surface. In April 2023, he won the Monte Carlo Masters title after defeating Holger Rune in the final. Not only that, he then went on to perform remarkably well in subsequent clay tournaments too. In the SRPSKA Open, he managed to reach the championship match before losing to Dusan Lajovic. Later in July, the Russian won his second clay-court trophy of 2023. In the final encounter of the Swedish Open, he beat Casper Ruud.

And guess what? His last ATP trophy, before clinching the Qatar Open this season, came on clay only. Last May, he won the Madrid Open after outperforming Canada’s Felix-Auger Alissiame in the final.

No prizes for guessing Rublev’s favorite surface is clay. Any specific reason? Per him, “The real tennis is played on clay, because it is the surface that requires you to think continuously, to be prepared for long and intense battles, to have an increased physical and mental endurance, and also to be smarter. On hard or fast, everything is more improvised because you hardly have time to think.”

In 2025, Rublev hasn’t made multiple deep runs except for the Doha triumph. In his last tennis appearance across the Sunshine Double events (Indian Wells and Miami), he was ousted in the R64 successively. His next challenge will be the Monte Carlo Masters next month. Being a former champion of the ATP 1000 tournament, played on clay, the Russian will look to make a solid return. Do you think he will bounce back in style?