Andy Rublev decided to skip the Barcelona Open despite being a member of the club where the tournament takes place. Rublev played at the Serbia Open which is held the same week. This raised some eyebrows. Not surprisingly, Rublev was asked why he chose to go to Belgrade.

Rublev revealed that the tournament did not treat players well last year. He said:

I do not want to reveal the details, but these were really significant nuances, surprising that some well-known names were missing from the list of participants at Barcelona Tournament. As a result, I accepted the invitation to play at the Serbia Open and not lose. In Belgrade, I was treated ten times better than I could have expected.

Andrey Rublev went on to win the tournament, beating Novak Djokovic in the final in three sets. Rublev won the third set 6-0 as Djokovic ran out of energy.