"I'm not in a good or bad place" - Andrey Rublev gets honest about his mental health after battling depression

Andrey Rublev recently opened up about his struggles with mental health. He also got honest with how he battled depression

Most recently, Rublev claimed the 2025 Qatar Open by defeating Jack Draper in the final. On the way to the championship match, he overcame the likes of Alexander Bublik, Nuno Borges, Alex de Minaur, and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

While speaking with The National, Andrey Rublev opened up about his struggles with his mental health and shared that he had been "lost" and was unsure of how to lift himself out of his slump for a couple of years.

“I was just kind of in a loop, lost with myself for a couple of years of not finding the way, not understanding what to do, what for? It sounds a bit dramatic or whatever, but like what’s the reason or purpose to live? Just completely lost with myself,” Rublev said.

The former World No.5 credited Russian tennis legend Marat Safin for reaching out and providing much-needed guidance. Safin helped Rublev understand himself better, encouraging him to take small steps towards a more positive direction

“With the help of Marat, he kind of made me understand myself or look at myself, and that was a bit of a restart from rock bottom and from there at least I was able little by little to start to move in a better direction and now I'm moving little by little in this better direction,” he continued.

Rublev described his current state of mind as "neutral," neither happy nor sad, anxious, or depressed. He expressed that he is grateful for finding a "base" to improve his mental well-being

“I'm not happy, I'm not in a good or bad place, but I'm not feeling any more stress, I'm not feeling anxious, I'm not having depression. I'm just neutral, not happy, not bad, but at least I found the base and that's like a beginning,” Rublev added.

Prior to his success at the Qatar Open, Rublev had participated at the ABN AMRO Open where he reached the quarterfinals before being defeated by Hubert Hurkacz.

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Andrey Rublev will next compete at Dubai Tennis Championships 2025

Andrey Rublev at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships [Image Source: Getty Images]

Andrey Rublev will next compete at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships which will run from February 24 to March 1, 2025, at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Rublev had won the title in Dubai in 2022, courtesy of a win against Jiri Vesely in the final.

This year, Rublev is seeded third in the ATP 500 hard court tournament and will kick off his campaign by facing qualifier Quentin Halys in the first round. The two players have met only once before on the ATP Tour, in the second round of the 2023 Shanghai Masters, where Rublev emerged victorious with a score of 6-4, 7-5. He then eventually finished as the runner-up in the tournament.

The winner of the first round match between Rublev and Halys will advance to the second round to face Roberto Bautista Agut.

In addition to the singles event, Rublev also participated in the doubles event of the ATP 500 tournament, teaming up with compatriot Karen Khachanov . However, the Russian duo suffered a defeat in the first round to the fourth-seeded pair of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori with a score of 7-5, 3-6, [14-16].

In 2024, Rublev was seeded second at the Dubai Tennis Championships and he secured victories against Zhang Zhizhen, Arthur Cazaux, and Sebastian Korda enroute to the semifinals, where he faced Alexander Bublik. There, he was disqualified for screaming in the face of a line judge over a disputed call.