
World No.9 Andrey Rublev has shared the moment he realised he needed to pull himself out of a dark place, admitting he was grappling with "a lot of anxiety".
There were multiple occasions last year where the 27-year-old displayed poor behaviour on the court, hitting himself with his racquet and abusing officials.
The problem first arose during the Dubai Tennis Championship semi-finals, defaulted for unsportsmanlike conduct after yelling at a line judge.
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In an honest admission, Rublev spoke about his first-round defeat against Francisco Comesana during last year's Wimbledon as the catalyst for the turning point.
"After Wimbledon. That was the worst moment that I face about myself," Rublev revealed. "It was not about tennis. It was to do with myself, like, after that moment I don’t see the reason of living life. Like, what for?
"This sounds a bit too dramatic but the thoughts inside my head were just killing me, creating a lot of anxiety, and I couldn’t handle this any more. I start to have a bit of bipolar. I don’t know if you can say it like that. But the one who made that start is me. Now I feel better. I can see the things that were happening.
"Since Wimbledon, some things changed. I was taking anti-depression tablets and it was not helping at all. In the end, I said: 'I don’t want to take anything any more.'"
"I stopped all the tablets and Marat Safin (Russian two-time Grand Slam winner) helped me a lot with [that] conversation.
"He made me realise many things, and then I start to work with a psychologist. I learn a lot about myself, and while I don’t feel in a happy mood or the happy place I would like to be, I don’t feel anymore that crazy anxiety and stress of not understanding what to do with my life."
Rublev commences his 2025 Australian Open campaign against Brazilian qualifier and rising star João Fonseca on Tuesday.
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