In a recent interview with Tennis365, the French coach Patrick Mouratoglou discussed Andrey Rublev’s anger management, explaining his point of view. In his analysis, Naomi Osaka’s coach explained how the Russian needs anger to play his best tennis.
Mouratoglou said how Andrey had some difficult moments this year, he struggled to control himself and hurt himself. The former coach of Serena Williams said how the Russian had a moment like that in the UTS final in London last year. On that occasion Patrick had seen him after the match, revealing how Rublev felt very bad about himself, he apologized 200 times, he was very embarrassed, but when he is in the heat of the moment, he is not really himself, it is the heat of the moment that puts him in difficulty.
“I think he needs this madness to play at his best and if he tries to control it because he is afraid of going too far, then it is difficult for him to find his tennis, so it is a fine line for him to walk,” explained Mouratoglou.
Andrey Rublev, ATP Finals 2024© Stream screenshot
It is the uncontrollable anger of a boy with a heart of gold and a very sensitive character. The commitment of the world number 8 in social work and his interest in sensitive issues such as the war between Russia and Ukraine have allowed him to gain great esteem and respect from other tennis players, who describe him as available and always smiling. The situation on the court is different, however, where the Russian, unable to manage his anger, lets himself go to dramatic outbursts.
For example, at the ATP Finals in Turin, the 27-year-old tried to contain his frustration in both matches played, in which he played two excellent matches, but surrendered to the superiority of Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz, before being eliminated after the third round robin match against Casper Ruud.
Andrey Rublev© YouTube screenshot
Speaking of Rublev, we recall the Russian has suffered in recent months from a physical problem with a testicle that forced him to undergo surgery. The Russian explained how he was training and preparing for China. Then shortly before departure, something unexpected happened out of nowhere. This in itself, as he explained.
“Now I feel better, everything went well. I don’t know how to say it intelligently, let’s say in a funny way. I almost lost a testicle. I’m very lucky because they say you only have five or six hours if the blood stops circulating there and then they have to amputate. I don’t know why I said to go to the hospital to see because I have a strange feeling. They operated on me in three or four hours. Everything went well. The last thing I did before they put me to sleep was to sign a paper authorizing the amputation of my testicle. That was the last thing I saw before the operation,” he explained.