A lengthy opening encounter saw Andrey Rublev fail to capitalize in two tie-breaks, eventually losing out in two hours and 18 minutes.

In the third game of the second set, frustrations boiled over for the world number seven after he fired a forehand into the net.

Furiously, and to the shock of thousands of horrified spectators, Rublev thrashed his racket into his left knee seven times, cutting it in the process and drawing blood.

Not his first outburst in Paris, a similar incident occurred at the French Open, with the Russian hitting his knee repeatedly during a shock defeat to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi this year – behavior Rublev said he was ‘disappointed’ with at the time.

A player with a tendency to resort to such violent outbursts on court, fans and pundits are starting to question what might be done to prevent it from happening again.

Jon Wertheim admits ‘serious concern’ for violent Andrey Rublev

After his meltdown at the French Open, BBC pundit Annabel Croft described Rublev as ‘fun and charming’ off-court, but clarified that that his anger during matches is ‘not good’ and must be addressed.

American pundit Jon Wertheim seemingly watched on in horror as the sixth seed combusted once again on court, in what was a troubling and truly concerning display.

A worried Wertheim suggested what might be done to tackle this issue via a post on X: “This is gone from tennis meme to source of serious concern,” he said. “This obviously goes deep and begs for sports psychology.

“But if the ATP Tour code of conduct treated this as harm/abuse – and not self-harm/abuse – maybe there’s at least some scoreboard deterrent?”

During the match, Rublev was also seen throwing his water bottle at the ground, while also telling the crowd to ‘shut up’.

Despite this, fans have reacted with similar unease to the incident too, with one user saying: “His coaches need to have him take a break from tennis to get help. This has gotten seriously concerning.”

Another was quick to bolster Croft’s French Open claim that Rublev’s on-court persona sits at odds to who he presents as off it.

“The saddest part of this is that it’s in such stark contrast to how Andrey is as a person off the court. He’s a wonderful human being and a great ambassador for the sport,” a troubled fan added.

Andrey Rublev has jeopardised his ATP Finals spot

The Russian’s problems don’t look like subsiding anytime soon, with Rublev now facing further anguish as his ATP finals spot hangs in the balance.

Held in Turin, the Finals sees the eight top ranked players on the ATP circuit for the year play in a round-robin event to try and separate the very best from the best.

With the world number seven yet to qualify and several players like Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov closing in on the last few ATP Finals spots, Rublev’s first-round exit may end up costing him dear.

Indeed, the Russian may well have already accepted his fate, reportedly already asking for a wildcard to the Metz Open – a tournament that runs concurrently with the finals.

While Rublev exhibits vicious ball-striking and brings an exciting and unique personality to the tour, his on-court violence is as heartbreaking as it is concerning.

The ATP will only face more scrutiny the longer they fail to tackle a situation, dangerously spiralling out of control.

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