Fans also shocked: "Just crazy behavior"... Smashes racket, then smashes items beside the court with a 'bang,' Bublik ends up injured himself

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, ranked 22nd in the world men's tennis rankings, could not contain his anger during a match and smashed his racket to pieces, then struck items beside the court, resulting in an incident where he injured himself. Fans who witnessed the scene also expressed shock.

Yahoo Sports reported on the 12th (Korean time) that "Bublik caused a disturbance by smashing his racket in the third round of the 2026 Shanghai Masters, and then struck a cooler, injuring his own hand."

The incident occurred during the men's singles third round of the 2026 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour Shanghai Masters held in Shanghai, China on the 11th.

Bublik defeated Brandon Nakashima of the United States in a hard-fought match lasting 2 hours and 27 minutes, winning 2-1 (6-7<7-9>, 6-3, 7-6<7-5>) to complete a comeback victory.

However, a startling scene unfolded during the match. After losing the first set, Bublik could not control his anger. As soon as the set ended, he slammed his racket onto the court floor a full five times with great force, completely destroying it, and then kicked the broken racket while heading toward the bench.

The rage did not end there. Bublik struck a cooler placed beside the court hard with his hand. In the process, he injured his hand, resulting in bleeding.

Ultimately, Bublik wrapped his hand in a towel and informed the chair umpire that he needed treatment, using approximately 3 minutes of medical timeout. The chair umpire issued a warning to Bublik for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The broadcast team at the time described the completely destroyed racket as "shattered."

Among fans who learned of Bublik's actions, his impulsive behavior became a topic of discussion.

According to reports, one fan said, "This is just crazy behavior," pointing out that "if he had suffered a more serious injury, there would be no one to blame but himself."

The fan continued, "If a player like Alexander Zverev of Germany had behaved this way, I can imagine what the reaction would have been."

Yahoo Sports explained that "many tennis fans expressed shock at Bublik's inability to control his emotions."

However, ironically, Bublik's performance actually improved afterward. After receiving treatment and returning to the court, he took the second set 6-3 to level the match.

In the final third set as well, the two players engaged in a close battle that went to a tiebreak. This time, Bublik was the one who smiled. He won the tiebreak 7-5, completing a dramatic comeback victory.

The outlet reported that "Bublik, who had exploded with emotion, subsequently turned the momentum around."

However, Bublik's run did not last long. He lost to Zverev in their match on the 13th, ending his tournament with a score of 1-2.

As a result of this outcome, the head-to-head record between the two players now stands at 3 wins and 2 losses, giving Bublik a slight lead.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original