"Bald and old" comments about Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray that fueled controversy "lost in translation," claims Alexander Bublik

Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik has claimed that his controversial comments about former tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were "lost in translation." Bublik was in Melbourne to compete in the singles and doubles competitions at the 2025 Australian Open.

The Kazakh, however, failed to go past the first round in both draws, losing 7-6(1), 6-3, 6-2 to Francisco Cerundolo in singles and 6-4, 6-1 to Ariel Behar and Robert Galloway in doubles alongside Alexander Shevchenko.

Before the tournament began, Bublik spoke to a Russian TV channel about Rafael Nadal's and Andy Murray's retirements.

"What happened to Andy Murray and Rafa [Nadal] was a circus," he told Match TV. "We tennis players, looked at them with our mouths open in the locker room, and then you see one of them bald and old. Now he [Andy Murray] has joined Novak Djokovic's team. These are attempts to grasp at what no longer exists, to some echoes of the past."

These statements from Bublik caused an uproar in the tennis world and the 27-year-old faced extreme criticism. Following his doubles loss at the Australian Open, Sportskeeda caught up with the Kazakh to learn about his actual thoughts behind making such remarks.

"It was a bit lost in the translation," he replied in Exclusive. "What I meant was like I don’t wanna see them like this… because it was in Russian, and it was a quick interview, it came up huge."

"What I tried to say in that sentence… not ‘bald and old’ I tried to say that I don’t want to see them like this. They’re legends. They’re winning Slams. I mean, come on, it’s something on the other planet for a player like me," he added.

---

Alexander Bublik on his Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray remark: "I misused the words, that’s my fault"

Alexander Bublik (Getty)

Talking to Sportskeeda further at the 2025 Australian Open, Alexander Bublik accepted that his words weren't inappropriate.

"Seeing them [Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray] like this, it hurts us, it’s tough and that’s what I actually meant," the 27-year-old said. "Maybe I misused the words, that’s my fault. But I know what I actually meant, people in the locker room know what I actually meant."

Bublik continued:

"That’s a pity that I turned out like this but I’m not really affected by that because I know what I meant. But now it’s good, they are not playing anymore… so I see them happy, what can I say."

For context, Rafael Nadal hung his racket up in November last year, losing to the Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. On the other hand, Andy Murray's final singles appearance on the court ended with the Scot's retirement against Jordan Thompson at the 2024 Queen's Club Championships.