Jimmy Connors slams Alexander Bublik after his comments about Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal telling him ‘he’s never sold a ticket’

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Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal retired from tennis in 2024, having cemented largely unmatchable legacies on the ATP Tour.

The ATP Tour saw two of its finest players retire from the sport last year as the Brit and Spaniard hung up their rackets.

Murray retired from tennis after losing in the Paris Olympic doubles alongside Dan Evans, having won three Grand Slam titles during his time in tennis.

After Spain were knocked out of the Davis Cup, Nadal retired from the sport, with 22 Major titles in his legendary trophy cabinet.

Fans appreciated seeing their favorites step out onto the court one last time, but one ATP star has recently revealed his thoughts on Nadal and Murray’s ‘extended’ careers.

“What happened with Andy Murray and Rafa [Nadal] is a circus, I can’t call it any other way,” said Alexander Bublik.

“We [tennis players] used to look at them with our mouths open in the locker room, then you see them old and bald.

“In my view it’s not even a circus but a disgrace.”

His comments didn’t go down well with many, and one former Grand Slam winner has now publicly criticized the 27-year-old.

Jimmy Connors slams Alexander Bublik after his comments on Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal by saying he ‘never sold a ticket’

Speaking on his Advantage Connors podcast, former world number one Jimmy Connors gave his thoughts on Bublik’s recent comments on the retirements of Nadal and Murray.

“That guy should be thinking about what he says because he probably hasn’t sold a ticket ever and those guys have made his living for him,” he said.

Connors’ son, Brett Connors agreed as he had a lot to say about the Kazakh star.

“He is 152 and 150 in his career, so he is two whole matches [over breaking even],” he said.

“He has made a fourth round of a Grand Slam one time, that was Wimbledon a couple of years ago.

“I don’t think he is going to have to worry about there being much of a circus when he goes.”

Connors continued to criticize the world number 33, reminding Bublik of his comments on retirement just a few years ago.

“I thought this was funny because he is dogging them essentially for being acknowledged in retirement,” he said.

“I thought if anyone should be happy and celebrating them it should be him.

“He was quoted a few years back saying ‘I hate tennis with all my heart, to be honest, I don’t see anything positive about being a tennis player, I only play for the money.

“If there was no money I would immediately stop playing tennis but I haven’t earned enough’.”

Connors couldn’t quite believe how Bublik had changed his tune and didn’t understand the logic behind his criticism of Nadal.

“Then a couple of years later, now he has gone back on that and said ‘I do enjoy playing tennis now because that is what I wanted to do as a kid’.

“Now check this, ‘When I was growing up I would stand in front of a mirror wearing Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer clothes dreaming of playing in tennis arenas’.

“Wait, what? You used to dream about being Nadal as a kid and idolize and respect him and now when he is retiring you are saying he’s bald and old?”

Comparing Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal’s ‘circus’ 2024 seasons with Alexander Bublik’s year

Bublik criticized Murray and Nadal for continuing in 2024, claiming that their retirement was a ‘circus’ but how did the trio compare last year?

In fairness, the Kazakh did win his fourth career title, as Bublik won the Montpellier final against Borna Coric, but that isn’t to say that Murray and Nadal didn’t have their moments in 2024 either.

At 27 years old Bublik would be considered to be entering the prime of his career, while we saw Murray and Nadal retire from the sport in their late 30’s last year.

Therefore you would expect a wide gap in performance between the younger star and his older counterparts, but that really wasn’t the case.

Nadal had a higher win % than Bublik last year, and matched him at the Masters 1000 level, as they both lost in the Madrid Open fourth round.

Murray on the other hand, did struggle, as his body gave up on him during the year, but he still managed to battle to some big wins in Miami.

There’s no denying that Murray and Nadal weren’t at their best in 2024, as their careers came to a close, but to suggest that either of their final years was a ‘circus’, when their performances weren’t too far off that of a 27-year-old ATP star, seems slightly absurd.

Bublik lost in the first round of the Adelaide International on Tuesday and will make his tennis return at the Australian Open which begins on January 12.