Andrey Rublev interview: “Helping kids was something I always wanted to do”
After his “best ever year”, the world No 5 has launched his own clothing line, with all the proceeds going to children in need
Andrey Rublev UTS London 2023 – Tennis Majors / UTS
Andrey Rublev has always been one of the most popular players on the men’s Tour but if there are a few more people in the crowd with his name on their shirts this weekend when he plays in London, there’s a reason.
The Russian, who is one of the favourites in the UTS Grand Final, which is being held at the Excel Centre from Dec 15-17, has launched his own clothing line in the hope that he can give something back from the sport that has made him a rich man.
“Rublo” – the name he uses for his nickname at UTS, the innovative, fast-paced format founded by Patrick Mouratoglou – is a new clothing line, which will be worn by Rublev and which is widely available to buy online.
The difference to most player clothing deals, though, is that all of the proceeds will be going towards children in need, all over the world.
Rublev launches own clothing line in hope of giving back
It’s something that has been in the back of his mind for many years and as soon as he had the chance to make it a reality, he did.
“It was always something important to me (helping children), because first of all, I went to public (state) school where we had a lot of kids who did not have many things,” the world No 5 told Tennis Majors on the eve of UTS London.
“I was one of those kids who had a good life. When I was already growing up in school, I saw that many kids didn’t have the same thing. I was friends with everyone and if I had a chance to buy (them) extra food, because I don’t know, my grandma… gave me a bit more money, I was trying to do this because I know that for them, it’s not that easy. We were always friends, no matter what.
“When I started to travel, I started to see even more how many kids have not a good life at all, that they have nothing at all, they’re suffering or they’re sick. And in the end, I was thinking why is this happening, because they are kids, they have not even done anything.
“While I was growing up, I was thinking OK, maybe later if I have financial chance, maybe there will be some way to start to help a little bit. And then because I was having this idea with clothes and then I started to think that maybe it’s good idea to do it together.”
Rublev has a team of people around him to help with the day to day running of the business, but the money is his, and he’s keen to make every bit of it count.
“Because I’m playing tennis, it’s not easy to focus on something else because if you want to help it takes a lot of effort,” he said. “You need to make sure that people are not cheating you or they are not trying to just take your money, so it takes a lot of effort.
“For me, still, tennis while I’m playing, is the priority and that’s why I started to think OK, while I’m playing I can do something with clothes and helping together, before I finish career because it’s still allowed me to play and to focus on tennis.”
“It was my best year” – Rublev reflects on impressive 2023
Rublev is coming off what he describes as “the best year of my career”, a year in which he won his first Masters 1000 title, in Monte-Carlo, picked up another title to take his career tally to take his career tally to 14.
He also qualified for the ATP Finals as one of the top eight players in the world this year, only to lose all three of his round-robin matches and at one stage, smashed his racket several times on his knee. “When I look back at it it’s a bit embarrassing,” he told reporters in London.
But when he reflects on 2023, he does so with pride. He may still be searching for a first Grand Slam semi-final run – he’s reached eight quarter-finals and lost the lot – but he continues to improve.
“Yeah, it was my best year,” he said, singling out the Monte-Carlo win as the high point. “It was a special moment, obviously. You don’t really feel (how special) often exactly in the moment when you win it, these first two minutes.
“But I have only felt (that special) a couple of times in my life; when I won my first ever ATP event, then when I won (the) gold (medal) at the Olympics with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and when I won in Monte-Carlo, maybe three or four times in my life. It was special.”
UTS Grand Final hopes
And so to his last competitive outing of the year, UTS London, where he joins Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, Gael Monfils, Alexander Bublik, Diego Schwartzman, Benoit Paire and Jack Draper in the field.
Rublev qualified for the eight-man UTS Finals in London thanks to his win in Frankfurt and the Russian said he has extra motivation to do well.
“Of course I want to do well this weekend because they pay a lot of money to the winner,” he said, with a grin. “If you win the event you cover (the cost) all the year of your team in flights. So of course I would like to win and I will play full. Everyone will play full because everyone understands that for three days, it is huge money.”
It’s also a nice way to unwind, he said, after a season in which he played 82 matches.
“Of course, all the players are nice guys and we know each other for a long time. It’s a nice atmosphere,” he said.
