Andrey Rublev, a frustrated Russian tennis player, hit himself with his racket seven times during his shocking first-round Wimbledon loss to Francisco Comesana.
Although ranked sixth and having advanced to the quarterfinals the previous year, 2024 couldn’t have gone much worse as world No. 122 Comesana won 6-4 5-7 6-2 7-6.
The world No. 6 from Moscow couldn’t contain his rage and had an absolute meltdown on the No. 2 Court, shocking spectators at the All England Club.
He smashed his racket against himself seven times. After the match, he was questioned about the incident.
‘Fans online, after you hit yourself with a racket seven times, are quite worried about you,’ one journalist told Rublev.
‘I know you’re saying it wasn’t as bad as Paris, but fans are quite worried. Is it something that’s on your mind? What people are seeing? They’re increasingly worried.’
Rublev said: ‘I wouldn’t do it if I was able to hit the racket on the floor.
OMG!
Rublev is RAGING! 🤯#BBCTennis #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/bitXkaLusE
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 2, 2024
I’m not sure, but we’re not permitted to smash it on the grass, so I was at my breaking point at that point. I needed to express my feelings.
But I’m grateful. Everything is alright. Rublev said, “I don’t watch those kind of videos,” when asked if he would watch the now-viral video again.
‘It’s not only about watching the videos. In general it’s about trying to improve yourself. It’s a process and it takes time.’
Argentine player Comesana earned the first grass-court win of his career as Rublev became the first top 10 player to lose in the men’s singles.
‘I think Rublev needs to see a sports psychologist,’ tennis fan @BillCooney posted on X. ‘This happens far too often, and it’s pretty excessive.’
‘This needs to be a code violation, even under the general unsportsmanlike conduct umbrella,’ tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg added. ‘Rublev can’t be doing this, if for no other reason that it’s disturbing for fans to watch.’