From battling depression & shocking health scare to winning first title in 9 months: Andrey Rublev's redemption story at Qatar Open

Andrey Rublev had a pretty rough 12 months, but fortunes turned for him at the 2025 Qatar Open where he won his first title in nine months. Rublev has, for a couple of years now, been one of the best players in the world. He's been part of the Top 5 (in 2021) and made the second week of a couple of Grand Slams, but he's also never really taken the next step.

The past 12 months might have been the toughest ones of his entire career. Things spiraled out of control in his private life, something he's opened up about since then, earning the praise of many fans. Talking about that wasn't easy for Andrey Rublev, who admitted that he battled depression, suicidal thoughts, and other mental health issues.

Even though he battled all of that, the Russian star never really stayed away from tennis. He kept playing and kept trying and grinding, even though the results haven't been very good. Even so, he managed to prove that he's a player who can handle all that adversity.

The most recent trophy he won before this week was at the Madrid Open in May 2024. That was an event where he dealt with tonsillitis, spending several nights in the hospital. Despite those struggles, Rublev proved the best on the court, beating even Carlos Alcaraz en route to the trophy. This trophy at the Qatar Open was also won in adversity.

He's still dealing with stuff and he's still not entirely out of the woods yet. After all, mental health is something that needs to be nurtured, and you can't just flip a switch to turn things well. Rublev was spotted several times this week trying out several meditation techniques during his matches, indicating that he's incorporated some of the stuff he learned in therapy into his daily routine.

He's opened up about therapy as well, which is good for the sport as athletes are often treated as characters rather than the humans that they are. Between all the mental health issues, Rublev dealt with legitimate issues. He had to undergo surgery where he had to sign a paper permitting one of his testicles to be amputated, which luckily never happened.

"Now I feel perfect, everything went well, but I don't know how to call it the smart way, I can try the funny way -- I almost lost my ball. I was super lucky because they say you have only 5-6 hours if the blood stops from going there, and then it is amputation," Rublev said on his surgery.

He overcame all of that and continued to play tennis and at times played really well. He was impressive throughout the week in Doha, making the final against Jack Draper whom he ultimately beat 7-5, 5-7, 6-1.

Andrey Rublev is back

Andrey Rublev at the ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open Semifinals - Source: Getty

It's hard to say that Andrey Rublev was ever properly away from the top of tennis because he was dealing with some serious issues. In light of what he was dealing with, his lack of results isn't that shocking. In reality, he played quite well, certainly better than some would expect a player to play.

His dedication to stick it out and keep playing has to be saluted as admirable and something that not many could do. After all, the several mental health breaks we've seen from players in the past couple of years show that not all are capable of that. He stuck around and finally reaped the reward at this year's Qatar Open.

He played fantastically at this event, not perfectly certainly, but good enough to win, and he deservedly lifted the trophy in the end. So is Andrey Rublev back? It's tough to say because it's not a matter that's entirely black and white. In some ways, he is back because he finally won a trophy again.

It took him 9 months to finally win a trophy again. It was also his first final in six months, which shows what an internal battle it was for him. But he won a trophy again and should feel really good about himself. The level is starting to look like the Rublev of old who was a top 5 player.

Andrey Rublev is smiling again, which is really nice to see. He's always been a player who smiles a lot but wasn't smiling as much due to what was going on. Now he's slowly starting to look like his former self and it's very impressive to see. From battling depression and surgeries and everything else, Rublev is back in the ATP Champions Center and he won't stop here.

He's looking for more and he can get there if everything clicks for him. If not, at least Andrey Rublev knows that the internal battle is a battle he can win. He's won it once and he'll win again if he wants to. Everything else matters little.