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Alexander Bublik has complained on camera about the depth of competition in men's tennis. Bublik was caught on camera at a change of ends during his Madrid Open match with young gun Jakub Mensik when he launched into a diatribe while talking to the chair umpire, Mohamed Lahyani.
Lahyani could only smile as the Russian-born Bublik continued talking. Bublik had performed well in the early rounds of the tournament. He defeated 25th seed Alexei Popyrin and seventh seed Andrey Rublev to set up the Round of 16 match against the up-and-coming Mensik.
Unfortunately for Bublik, Mensik was in top form and won their match comfortably 6-3, 6-2.
Bublik's outburst was picked up by Tennis TV and soon became viral across the internet. Bublik, who once ranked in the world's top 20, is now down at No. 75 and struggling for wins. He asked the umpire a direct question (via Tennis TV on X):
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"Mohamed, remember when tennis was easy? Like five years ago it was super easy to play tennis?"
When Lahyani failed to respond, Bublik continued. The 27-year-old complained that world tennis had become more difficult with the depth of talent on show:
"A bunch of random people now in the top 50. Barely moving. Now this guy's not even top 5, eh? Not even top 10. What the f--- is that?"
The source of Alexander Bublik's complaint was 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, who has emerged in 2025 as a major force. Mensik caused a major stir in March when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final of the Miami Open to capture his first Masters 1000 trophy and deny the legendary Serb his 100th ATP title.
Alexander Bublik has drifted down the rankings over the last 12 months
Alexander Bublik has suffered a string of losses since last year's Wimbledon, when he reached the third round. As a result, his world ranking has tumbled from No. 17 to No. 75. A month ago, Bublik was interviewed by the Tennis Channel, per tennis.com, and bemoaned the topsy-turvy nature of the modern rankings.
“If you asked me last year at the US Open if I would be No. 80 in the world, I would have laughed at you. But that’s life. Maybe I took it all a bit too relaxed when I was at the top. But it’s not affecting me, which I’m happy about. You’d go crazy going up and down like a rollercoaster. You’re No. 17, then you’re No. 80, then you’re No. 15, you’ll go crazy. At 35, you’re bald and you can’t do anything anymore.”
Alexander Bublik's one bright spot this season was reaching the Phoenix Challenger final in March. His performances in Madrid have suggested the 27-year-old might be recovering some of his old form, although he'll need to step up his game still further to compete with young rising stars like Mensik.
