To say that Jannik Sinner’s 2024 season was eventful would be an understatement. The World No.1 had to navigate the storm of a doping scandal while competing against his rivals on the tennis courts. To Sinner’s credit, he nailed that last part impressively.
Still, his achievements are getting a bit lost in all the outside noise from the ongoing doping case. But the Italian received some unexpected support from Andrey Rublev. The Russian star expressed his sympathy for what Sinner experienced, while also praising him for managing “to dominate the circuit.”
“You wouldn’t wish that on any player. I can’t imagine the stress or anxiety he felt during that whole period. He handled it very well, he continued to play at his best and still managed to dominate the circuit and win titles. It’s very impressive,” he told AFP.
Rublev did not stop there. The World No. 8 had some strong opinions about the anti-doping system, feeling that the rules in tennis are a lot stricter.
“I think the anti-doping system should be a little more understandable. In tennis, the rules are super strict, more so than in other sports. I feel that every little mistake, even when it’s not intentional, can threaten your career.”
His remarks come as a huge surprise in a number of ways. The public support for Sinner has been minimal among the tennis community. Even a lot of fans were quick to turn on Sinner, always bringing up his failed drug tests whenever he clinches a title.
It was quite surprising to see Rublev backing the Italian star in that moment. But don’t think the Russian will bring that same kindness to the court when they go up against each other. The 27-year-old has already identified the areas he needs to work on to close the gap with the World No.1.
“I’m one of the worst players at the net”: Andrey Rublev
Rublev has been hanging around the top eight for a while now, but he’s been having a tough time catching up to the likes of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Even though he managed to beat them once this season, he hasn’t been able to maintain that same level of consistency against other players to regularly compete for the big titles. When asked if the gap between him and the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz is only mental, Rublev replied,
“There’s a bit of everything. The main aspect is of course mental, but there are also a lot of aspects of my game (to improve). I’m in the top 10, but I’m one of the worst players at the net! The other players in the top 10 manage to return balls from difficult positions; mine sometimes land outside the court.”
That is a pretty honest confession from Rublev. Not a lot of players are open about their weaknesses like this. It speaks for itself how well Rublev has identified the parts of his game that he needs to improve.
As the 2025 season approaches, it’ll be interesting to see if Rublev can add to his two titles from this year and improve on the World No.8 ranking.
