Andrey Rublev has spoken about the apparent contrast in his and Carlos Alcaraz’s on-court personas, attributing it to the Spaniard’s different approach to handling his off-court matters.
Rublev’s on-court outbursts have earned him the reputation of being emotionally volatile during matches, frequently having meltdowns, hitting himself, and engaging in self-destructive behavior. The Russian has candidly discussed his efforts to improve his psychological stability, aiming to maintain his composure on court.
During a recent interview with a Russian YouTube channel, the 26-year-old was asked about Carlos Alcaraz‘s positive energy on the court compared to his own ‘depressing’ aura.
In response, Andrey Rublev highlighted the contrast in their career graphs, emphasizing that the Spaniard had already reached heights that most players aspire to and was now aiming for further glory.
“Carlitos (Carlos Alcaraz) is young, everything is planned for him outside the court, because he’s an insanely good player. He’s managed to break through, he was No. 1, he won Slams. He’s already achieved what players dream of. Now he needs to achieve more, win more Slams,” he said (at 48:00).
The Russian further stated that the 20-year-old was not burdened with the responsibility of decision-making as his team handled everything for him. As such, Rublev expressed curiosity about how the Spaniard would deal with tough situations, as those required experience.
He cited the example of having problems with one’s agent as one such challenging situation, stating that this can result in financial pressure, making it difficult to concentrate solely on tennis.
“Outside the court, everything is planned and done for him. It would be interesting to see what happens when he faces some tough situations in his life, how he manages them because you need time and experience to sort it out, to understand it,” he said (at 48:42).
“An easy example is the agency. Problems with your agent. When you stop working together, the contracts, who gets what, they’ll try to squeeze everything out of you. Those moments affect you, you start to think not only about tennis,” he added.