“My level of tennis has reached a ceiling”: Andrey Rublev makes big admission after fourth consecutive defeat

Russia’s Andrey Rublev has highlighted an interesting reason behind his recent struggles. The 27-year-old is having a decent season, having featured in 53 matches and won 32 of them, while losing 21 times in the process.

However, recently, Rublev has struggled to maintain consistency. He has now lost his last four matches and, subsequently, has been eliminated from three competitions after playing just one game. At the Hangzhou Open last month, Rublev suffered a shocking defeat to France’s Valentin Royer in the round of 16 in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-6.

After that, Rublev featured at the China Open, where he was knocked out after losing in the round of 32 to Flavio Cobolli in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3. Rublev’s most recent outing was at the Shanghai Masters, where he was given a bye in the first round.

He featured in the round of 64, where once again, he was handed another shocking defeat, this time by Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka with a score of 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. After his most recent defeat, Rublev spoke to the Russian media, where he shared an interesting reason behind his recent struggle. Rublev stated that he believes his game has reached its ‘ceiling’ and that he must try something new, or else the younger and more talented players will start pushing him further down the ATP rankings.

"It's not that they've figured out my game,” said Rublev. “It's just that my level of tennis has reached a ceiling. That's it. Either I continue to be stuck in the top 20, with all the young players pushing me down the rankings further and further, or try to drastically change everything and give myself a chance for the rest of my career.”

Rublev then further explained his comments by stating that he believes he needs to change ‘everything’. Rublev also indicated that he is now considering starting to watch more matches of Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Italy’s Jannik Sinner to learn from their court strategies and gain insight. "But what is it that needs to be changed? Everything,” said Rublev. “Do something similar to what Sinner and Alcaraz are doing. I guess I need to watch more of their matches.”

Alcaraz and Sinner, who are the world's number one and two, respectively, have been phenomenal since the start of 2024, having shared all eight Grand Slams. This year, both players won two major titles each and faced off in the final of three out of the four Grand Slams.

On the other hand, Rublev had a disappointing Grand Slam season, where, for the first time since 2020, he failed to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of any major event. At the Australian Open, Rublev lost in the first round to Brazil’s young sensation Joao Fonseca in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3, 7-6.

At the French Open, Rublev lost in the fourth round to Sinner in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-3, 6-4. At Wimbledon, Rublev’s journey once again ended in the round of 16 as he lost to Alcaraz with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. In the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, Rublev suffered a defeat to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round. In the midst of all of this, Rublev did win a title as well, which was back in February earlier this year, where he lifted the Qatar Open in Doha after beating Britain’s Jack Draper in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 5-7, 6-1.