Andrey Rublev is making change ahead of 2025 season as he states what he’s working on in training

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Andrey Rublev lost all three of his group-stage matches at the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin.

Rublev endured a tough season on the ATP Tour, struggling for form for large parts of the season despite several impressive performances.

The Russian began his season well with a title at the Hong Kong Open, before Rublev won the Madrid Open, to take home his second Masters 1000 trophy.

It was at the four Major tournaments where the 27-year-old struggled once again however, as Rublev reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam just once in 2024.

Struggling for form, it had looked as if he would fail to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time since 2019 until Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the finals confirmed his place in Turin.

Rublev then lost all three of his matches in Italy, to take his record to 0-6 at the event in the last two seasons.

The Russian is now taking time to reflect on what he needs to improve upon in 2025.

Andrey Rublev says he is going in a ‘different direction’ in training ahead of 2025 season

Speaking about his pre-season preparations, Rublev revealed the changes that he is making to compete better next year.

“We are working much more in a different direction,” he said.

“I want to play better at the net, because especially now there are many matches that are decided by one or two points.

“These one or two points different, let’s say I didn’t play well at the net, and then the other guy, when he went to the net, I tried to pass him, he played really well, and that was the difference in the most important moment of the match.”

Whilst Rublev intends to improve on his net play in 2025, he’s aware there is a lot more that can still be worked on.

“Things like that, with the serve, with the changing of the rhythm, and just not to hit every time the same way,” he said.

“Those things I’m trying to work on, and I’m starting to like better because I feel like I’m doing them better.”

Rublev was criticized by Marat and Dinara Safin at the ATP Finals for a lack of variety in his game, which they believed was costing him against the better players on tour.

The Russian is however aware that these changes won’t happen overnight.

“We’ll see because, at the end of the day, it’s not just about pre-season,” said Rublev.

“It’s a bit like a daily routine, you have to do it every day, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a tournament or not.

“It’s just something we’ve been doing these last couple of months, and now it’s preseason we have even more time to do it.”

Is Andrey Rublev more likely to rise or fall in the ATP rankings in 2025?

Rublev is currently ranked eighth in the world and will be looking to push on to bigger and better things in 2025.

The Russian has however shown a very strange pattern in his career to date, which could indicate where he will finish up at the end of next year.

The 27-year-old has remarkably alternated between finishing eighth and fifth in the world, for the past five seasons.

However, the task of leapfrogging Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud, and Daniil Medvedev to retake fifth spot is certainly a daunting one.

Not only that, but there are a number of names behind him that could have Rublev looking over his shoulder in 2025.

Whilst many of those names seem quite far behind Rublev at the minute, it would be naive to suggest that none could surpass the Russian in 2025.

He’ll have to be at his best if he wants to return to number five in the world, as if his form dips, he could quickly find himself out of the world’s top ten.

Rublev is set to return at the Hong Kong Open which begins on December 29, where he is the defending champion.