Russian tennis player Andrei Rublev explained why this season turned out to be the best in his career.

Rublev failed to leave the Red Group of the final tournament (held from November 12 to 19), losing in two games to compatriot Daniil Medvedev, German Alexander Zverev and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. This season, the Russian won the Masters in Monte Carlo and the tournament in Båstad, and finished the year ranked fifth in the world. In total, 26-year-old Rublev has 14 titles at ATP tournaments.

– I got a second trainer – Alberto Martin, a new physio, a new fitness trainer. Even at the very beginning of the season, I felt that I had found the job I was looking for. The victory in Monte Carlo and the following tournaments only confirmed that I had to believe in what I was doing—don’t doubt it. It is clear that Fernando [Висенте] Everything was great regarding the training, but the second coach studied sports psychology. We do a lot of things with him outside of training that are aimed specifically at his behavior on the court. Plus, he can explain in a different language the things that Fernando tells me,” Rublev told the Championship.

During the second round of the Red Group against Alcaraz, Rublev, in the opening of the second game, after another mistake, hit himself several times with his racket on his left leg, bloodying his knee. This behavior of the Russian caused a mixed reaction in the tennis community. In particular, the Australian Nick Kyrgios, who has been involved in numerous scandals on and off the court, stated that even he never allowed himself “such madness.”