Rennae Stubbs recalls her first impressions of Alexander Bublik and explains what he did that was ‘bonkers’

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Few players have enjoyed better months on the ATP Tour than Alexander Bublik, who continues to impress.

Earlier this month, Bublik beat Jack Draper at the French Open to qualify for a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time in his career.

Losing to the world number one in the quarterfinals, he soon got his revenge when Bublik knocked Jannik Sinner out of the Halle Open on grass.

Carrying that momentum forward, Bublik won the Halle Open, returning to the top 30 and guaranteeing himself a seed at Wimbledon.

Having played as well as he has over the last month, many have tipped Bublik to make another deep Grand Slam run at the All England Club.

Ahead of the Kazakhs’ return to action, one WTA legend recalled her first impressions of Bublik.

Rennae Stubbs remembers ‘bonkers’ Alexander Bublik hitting 140mph second serves

During the latest episode of the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, former doubles number one Rennae Stubbs remembered the first time she saw Bublik in action.

“I remember coaching against him in the mixed doubles once. He played with Elena Rybakina against Sam Stosur and her partner at the Australian Open. I remember seeing him really kind of for the first-ish time, I’d sort of seen him in the peripheral,” she said.

“I’m like, this guy is nuts! He would go for 140-mile-an-hour second serves, and I was like, I don’t know what’s going on here. This guy is absolutely bonkers

“But having said that, he’s that unpredictable character that, on grass, it’s actually really beneficial to be that way.

“As long as you can keep your you know what together.”

Stubbs proceeded to explain why Bublik’s game is so well-suited to grass, following his Halle Open win.

“[Alexander] Bublik is the type of player who always takes risks. That’s how he plays. So for him, playing on grass is ideal because it’s like, oh, risk? Great. Go for it,” she said.

“Then, obviously, if you’re playing well enough, you start getting into it, and you start feeling good about it, you start serving big and flat.

“He serves so flat, and he hits the ball so flat. The play on grass lends itself beautifully to his game. So, look, he’s not someone that anyone wants to play at Wimbledon, I can tell you that right now.

“The unpredictability, the underarm serving, like everything about him, is just…”

Winning two of his five ATP titles on grass, Bublik has proven himself as one of the most dangerous players on the surface.

The 28-year-old would no doubt love to add a sixth title to his collection at Wimbledon, but to do so, he will need to improve upon his previous-best efforts at SW19.

Alexander Bublik’s record at Wimbledon

Since making his debut in 2017, Bublik has performed better at Wimbledon than at the other three Grand Slam tournaments, but has yet to reach the quarterfinal stage.

Bublik came close to the last eight of Wimbledon two years ago, when he lost a deciding set to Andrey Rublev in the fourth round.

He’ll kick off his 2025 campaign against Spain’s Jaume Munar, who impressed at the Queen’s Club Championships recently.

Taking on his countryman in the second round, Munar pushed Carlos Alcaraz all the way, coming up just short 4-6, 7-6, 5-7.

The pair have yet to play one another on the ATP Tour, although with just a 38% win rate at Wimbledon, Munar will likely enter the match as a significant underdog.

If Bublik were to beat Munar, he may not have to wait too long for another Grand Slam clash with world number four, Draper.

Alexander Bublik’s projected route to the Wimbledon title

• 1R – Jaume Munar
• 2R – Fabian Marozsan
• 3R – [4] Jack Draper
• 4R – [15] Jakub Mensik
• QF – [6] Novak Djokovic
• SF – [1] Jannik Sinner
• F – [2] Carlos Alcaraz

Only time will tell how far Bublik will go at Wimbledon, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action when the tournament begins on Monday, June 30.