Professional sports stars who are at the top of their game will always be more critical about themselves than anyone else.
For Andrey Rublev, that is certainly the case.
Most players might welcome the break at this time of the year as professional tennis takes a bit of a break but Rublev must be desperately keen to get cracking with 2025.
The Russian player was seemingly out of sorts in 2024 and he won’t look back at the year with any real fondness whatsoever.
Rublev has already set out some goals for 2025 and he will want to ensure he can keep his place among the game’s top 10 players.
Rublev was sent crashing out of the recent ATP Finals at the group stage after losing all three of his matches and winning one set in the process.
Andrey Rublev admits he’s terrible at one particular aspect of tennis
Every player has their weaknesses to work on and Rublev is desperately trying to get back on track after a poor 2024.
Rublev reached the quarter-final in Australia in 2024 but then lost in the third round at the French Open, the first round at Wimbledon and the fourth round of the US Open.
For a player ranked eighth in world tennis that won’t really do and he will be desperate to start competing in the business end of tournaments going forward.
Rublev has admitted that there is one aspect of his game that he’s really keen to work on and it won’t come as too much of a surprise to any of his fans.
He told Eurosport: “There’s a little bit of everything. The main aspect is of course mental, but there are also many aspects of my game to be improved.
“I’m in the top 10, but I’m one of the worst players at the net! The other players in the 10 manage to deliver balls from different positions; mine sometimes land off the court.
“So I try to work on these kinds of details, I spend more time on them than before. In the past, I was only obsessed with my forehand; today I’m more open to working on other things in training.”
Rublev can kick on in 2025
The 27-year-old is by no means washed up or anything like that and there is time on his side for him to enjoy a breakout season.
Rublev showed in 2024 that he is capable, winning an ATP 1000 event – the Madrid Open – back in May.
He also reached the final of the Canadian Open but for whatever reason, he just couldn’t get himself up for the big events during this year.
Rublev knows he can get through to the second week of the bigger events and he will be very keen to park 2024 and quickly look ahead to next year.
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