Andrey Rublev is the first top 10 player to lose in the men’s singles (Picture: Getty)
Angry Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev hit himself with his racket seven times during his shock first-round Wimbledon defeat to Francisco Comesana.
Rublev, who was was seeded sixth, reached the quarter-finals last year but 2024 couldn’t have gone much worse as world No.122 Comesana won 6-4 5-7 6-2 7-6.
The Moscow-born world No.6 couldn’t hide his frustration and had an absolute meltdown on the No.2 Court to shock spectators at the All England Club.
He smashed his racket against himself a whopping seven times and was quizzed about the incident in a tense post-match press conference.
‘Fans online, after you hit yourself with a racket seven times, are quite worried about you,’ one journalist told Rublev.
‘I know you’re saying it wasn’t as bad as Paris, but fans are quite worried. Is it something that’s on your mind? What people are seeing? They’re increasingly worried.’
Rublev said: ‘I wouldn’t do it if I was able to hit the racket on the floor.
‘Because we’re not allowed to hit it on the grass… so I don’t know… at that moment I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to let emotions out. But thanks. Everything is fine.’
Asked if he would go back and watch the video – which has since gone viral – Rublev added: ‘I don’t watch those kind of videos.
‘It’s not only about watching the videos. In general it’s about trying to improve yourself. It’s a process and it takes time.’
Andrey Rublev was a Wimbledon quarter-finalist last year (Picture: Getty)
Argentine player Comesana earned the first grass-court win of his career as Rublev became the first top 10 player to lose in the men’s singles.
‘I think Rublev needs to see a sports psychologist,’ tennis fan @BillCooney posted on X. ‘This happens far too often, and it’s pretty excessive.’
‘This needs to be a code violation, even under the general unsportsmanlike conduct umbrella,’ tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg added. ‘Rublev can’t be doing this, if for no other reason that it’s disturbing for fans to watch.’