Andrey Rublev has been a top tennis player for a few years now. But he doesn’t get the same respect as his peers – Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, and Matteo Berrettini. The other top players routinely get invited to major sports and fashion events, often with front row-seats. But not Andrey Rublev. And Rublev is not happy with the situation.
Speaking of the ill-treatment, Rublev said:
They don’t do those things for me. I don’t know how all the players met all the stars. I asked once to go to an NBA game in Miami and they gave me the last row at the top. And I think I was top 10 at the time.
Andrey Rublev is openly talking about something that’s well known in sports. Some players are marketable and sought after by sponsors and events. Maria Sharapova, whose accomplishments on the court are nowhere close to Serena Williams’, managed to make more in endorsement earnings than Serena Williams for most of her career. Simona Halep had difficulty finding a clothing and shoe sponsor when she was ranked number 1 in the world.
Rublev is not the most charismatic tennis player. He is also from Russia, a country that doesn’t have many global brands and is currently avoided by brands because of its invasion of Ukraine.