Alexander Bublik

Professional career

Bublik was ranked 964th when the season started. His first professional win came at a Futures event in Doha in April 2016, and he followed that with titles in Russia and Sweden. He got wildcards into both singles and doubles at the 2016 St. Petersburg Open, marking his ATP main-draw debut. At the Kremlin Cup, he qualified and then stunned Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets for the biggest win of his career, before falling in a tight three-setter to eventual champion Pablo Carreño Busta.

2017: Two Challenger titles and top 100 debut

In November 2016, Bublik said he would switch to representing Kazakhstan. By year’s end, his ranking had jumped to 205th. He qualified for the Australian Open and beat 16th seed Lucas Pouille in his first Grand Slam match. In February, he claimed his first Challenger title at the Morelos Open, defeating Nicolás Jarry.

At Wimbledon, he got into the main draw as a lucky loser and lost to world No. 1 Andy Murray. He won a second Challenger in Aptos, and after reaching a Challenger semifinal in Istanbul in September, he cracked the top 100 for the first time, at a career-high 95th. Much of 2018 was a struggle, with his ranking falling into the 200s, but he ended the year by winning eight matches to take the Challenger title in Bratislava. Early in 2019, he won his fourth Challenger in Budapest and another in Pau.

2019: Two ATP Finals, top 50

He earned his first Masters 1000 win in Miami, coming through qualifying and beating Tennys Sandgren in a third-set tiebreak. In Monterrey, he again beat Sandgren in a third-set tiebreak on his way to a sixth Challenger title, which pushed him back into the top 100. At the French Open, he won his first main-draw match against Rudolf Molleker, then lost a close four-setter to eventual finalist Dominic Thiem. He reached his first ATP final in Newport, where top seed John Isner beat him.

At the US Open, he won two straight five-set matches, rallying from two sets down against Thomas Fabbiano to reach his first major third round.

National representation

Bublik has participated three times in the Kazakhstan Davis Cup team since 2019, with a win–loss record of 9–4 in singles and 3–2 in doubles as of 2022. He stated that he takes Davis Cup more seriously than the singles Tour because he plays for the country and fans, and that he tries to be his best in the moment. He made his Davis Cup debut at the 2019 qualifying round, defeating Portugal's João Sousa in three sets to help Kazakhstan advance to the 2019 Finals.

At the Finals, Bublik narrowly lost to Robin Haase of the Netherlands in three sets, but teamed with Mikhail Kukushkin to win the deciding doubles match against Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer, sealing their first tie win. In Kazakhstan's tie against Great Britain, Bublik defeated Dan Evans in singles but lost his doubles match with Kukushkin to Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski, and Kazakhstan lost in the group stage. The following year, in the qualifying round against the Netherlands, Bublik won both his singles matches against Tallon Griekspoor and Haase in straight sets, bringing his team to the 2021 Finals.

At the Finals, he beat Sweden's Mikael Ymer in three sets to help win the tie, then defeated Canada's Vasek Pospisil in straight sets to reach Kazakhstan's sixth Davis Cup quarterfinal. There, Bublik lost to Serbia's Novak Djokovic in straight sets, and the team lost the tie.

Playing style

Standing at 6 feet 5 inches, Bublik possesses a powerful serve and led the 2021 ATP Tour in aces. His unpredictable and capricious game style, including occasional underarm serves and trick shots, has drawn comparisons to Nick Kyrgios.

Bublik is known for his irreverence to the sport and casual approach to practice, treating tennis and his personal life equally. He described his run to the 2021 French Open doubles final as a "pure accident" and said he viewed doubles as a way to make extra money and joke around. In a 2020 interview, he stated that without money he would stop playing tennis, but in 2022 he explained that his mindset had changed and he now loves playing tennis, realizing it was what he wanted to do as a child.

Did You Know?

• Bublik and his wife Tatiyana had their first child, a son named Vasily, in 2022.
• In 2023, Bublik was named a reserve member of the Levitov Chess Wizards team in the Professional Rapid Online Chess League.