'Looking back, I would not change a thing': Sacha Bublik and living life in the present

Alexander Bublik has transformed himself as a person and a tennis player.

The 28-year-old Kazakh has always been an entertainer; a floater no seed wants to see in their draw, but also one capable of unravelling in quick fashion.

His talent is undeniable; six-foot-five with a destructive serve and just about every trick shot in the book. And given his ability, Bublik has undoubtedly underperformed in his career to date.

The 2026 Australian Open is Bublik’s 10th campaign at Melbourne Park – qualifying included – and it’s the first in which he’s even reached round three.

Up until the last year, he's seen tennis as a way to earn money; not an endeavour that he requires maximum effort off – or sometimes even on – the court.

In 2020, Bublik stated that he hates the sport “with all his heart”.

At that time, he also told L’Equipe that he’s “only still playing because he hasn’t yet earned enough money to retire”.

Now at 28, the motivation remains similar – now to provide for his wife and three-year-old son – but his approach is entirely different.

“I'm treating it more like a work,” Bublik told the media.

“I used to like to eat junk food a lot…and drink a lot of Coca-Cola.

“Now, I have no joy of coming here, taking the third set, losing in five, yelling, breaking racquets. I don't feel need to do that.”

It all turned around for ‘Sascha’ during the mid-part of 2025. He had fallen outside the top 80 in the ATP rankings and the outlook for his career was a little bleak – until a career-altering vacation.

“My coach suggested a trip to Vegas,” Bublik said at Roland-Garros last year.

“He's like, ‘if you [continue to] play like this, we're just going to be out of tennis, [out] of the conversation.”

The unconventional idea has worked wonders for Bublik who’s since won five ATP titles and risen inside the top-10 for the first time.

The flurry of success – on the back of a new professional approach – raises the question of whether Bublik has wasted the last five years of his career – a statement to which he emphatically disagreed.

“No…looking back, I would not change a thing,” he revealed.

“Everyone tells their kids to learn from others' mistakes. I think we actually learn from our own mistakes.

“You can't really push someone, in my opinion, unless you're going to break the guy.

The world no.10’s view is unique. He lives life in the present, makes mistakes, and doesn't look back wishing he had been different.

“You say I wasted years…if you look from the perspective I am now, it may seem like this. But I was happy. I was doing what I felt to do. I knew the consequence. So, I was really pragmatic in the way that I knew that if what I'm doing.

“I was not capable of being stable, a top 20, top 30 player.”

Bublik enforced that his success over the past six months doesn’t necessarily motivate him to work harder, and he’s not willing to sacrifice his personal life to do it.

“It's always nice if you succeed. But what if you don't?” he pondered.

After his career-best victory over Jack Draper at Roland Garros 2025, he said the special moment wouldn't inspire a further push from him, because nothing is ever guaranteed.

“Will I put my life and health on the line to have a ‘might’? No.”

“For me, it's a 50/50 relationship (tennis and life). So, it's not like tennis takes 90% and then it's okay if I can't walk at the age of 40.

“For me, it's doing what I have to do in order to be able to compete against the top of the game…but will I put my health on the line? No.”

Even seeing his rejuvenated approach reap the rewards, Bublik can’t guarantee the same focused version of himself in the coming years.

“I don't know what's going to happen to Alex Bublik in five years' time. Will I be locked in like now, or maybe even hungrier? Or I will say, ‘Guys, I don't want to come to some tournaments because I want to be home’".

The next period of 'Bublik's' career will be an intriguing watch. If he continues to harness his potential, he strikes as a player that could trouble Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner more than most.

But the next big test standing in front of him is Alex de Minaur, and the Australian crowd, as 'Sascha' looks to continue his rise and reach a second major quarterfinal.

SEN Network: SEN 1116am Melbourne, SEN 1170am Sydney, SENQ 693am Brisbane, SEN Gold Coast 1620am, SEN SA 1629am, SEN Tassie 1629am, SEN Top End 1611am, SEN Mt Gambier 1629am, SEN Goulbourn Valley 1260am, SEN Geelong, SEN Bendigo, SEN Ballarat, SEN Gippsland, SEN Sunraysia, SEN WA on the app in Perth, SEN Spirit 621am in Bunbury, SEN Spirit 621am in Bunbury, SEN Spirit 1494am in WA's South West, SEN Peel in Mandurah, and SEN Goldfields 1611am in Kalgoorlie and across WA in the Pilbara, Mid-West and Great Southern Regions, SEN Fanatic on the SEN App, SEN App worldwide