‘My Mother Had to Constantly Fight for Me’: Andrey Rublev Takes a Dig at Russian Tennis Federation

Going by the number of titles won this year when compared to that of 2020, Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev’s performance might not look incredible on paper, but he managed to maintain consistency throughout the season.

The Russian’s 2021 season started off on a positive note where he won the ATP Rotterdam Open and also reached the semi-finals in Miami Masters. But, his best win of the year came at Monte Carlo Masters, where he stunned Rafael Nadal in three sets in the quarter-finals.

Rublev went on to lose the final to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Despite not making an impact in majors, Rublev reached a couple of finals on grass and hard-courts.

Andrey Rublev opened up on his mother’s struggles during his earlier days as tennis player

As the Russian is all set to feature in the third-edition of ATP Cup, he spoke to Eurosport Russia on multiple things, including his early days as a tennis player. When asked about the support from Russian Tennis Federation when he was a teenager, Rublev shared an anecdote involving his mother’s struggle.

“The Russian Tennis Federation did not help as much as it probably could, because specifically in my case, I remember how my mother had to constantly fight for me, knock me out to get something. Although I was always one of the first in my year”. 

Rublev went on to explain how lower-ranked players were preferred over him.

Rublev is one of the brightest prospects on men’s tennis at the moment

“I remember when I was already 12 or 13 years old, we tried to get some kind of bets for the players. But they were given to guys who were worse than me: they were lower in the rating or I beat them. My mother had to somehow fit in for me, so that finally, after some time, I was given this rate”.

After this struggling phase, Rublev’s parents found a sponsor in Andrei Bokarev, a well-known businessman in Russia. Soon, Bokarev would become a prime sponsor for Russian tennis.

From Rublev’s story, it appears evident that he faced various obstacles growing up as a tennis player and going through them, he made a unique mark on the ATP tour now. Andrey Rublev stands tall as one of the prospects alongside Tsitsipas and Zverev to win a major title in the future.

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