It wasn’t so much the loss that alarmed some tennis fans, but the racket smash.
After stellar results since mid-2025 that propelled him into the top 10, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik went out in the round of 32 at the Indian Wells tennis tournament to Rinky Hijikata, who is ranked outside the top 100. Bublik faded in the third after two tiebreaks, losing 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 to the Australian qualifier in the southern California desert on Monday.
But a moment that distracted from the shot-making came when Hijikata tied the match at the end of the second set, hitting a smash into the open court. Bublik responded by pulverizing his racket, smashing it into the hard court five times in a reminder of past emotional eruptions that some people in the tennis world saw as undermining his potential.
Tennis analyst Nikola Aracic said he thought Bublik had the potential to be in the top five but that recent disappointments, including a fourth-round wipeout by Australian Alex de Minaur at the Australian Open in January, were threatening his chances.
“We’re seeing the ‘old Bublik’ unfortunately, and he is back in the trap of jester-maxxing on the court,” Aracic said on his YouTube channel, in reference to Bublik hitting an easy, putaway ball with his racket handle during the match against Hijikata.
“NEVER CHANGE,” Tennis TV said on X, accompanying video of the stunt with a laughter emoji.
“People on the internet love it and some of the major publications in the tennis world have praised this as ‘classic Bublik,’” Aracic said. “But I’m seeing this as something very negative” that, if continued, could relegate Bublik to a lower ranking as he loses focus.
The Athletic, a sports journalism outlet owned by The New York Times, featured Bublik in an article this week that was titled: “How to smash a tennis racket: Style, control, damage, aggression — and danger.”
The article says Bublik smashed his racket “with abandon and devastation,” though it notes that destroying rackets has a long history among the tennis elite.
Russia-born Bublik, 28, started 2026 by winning the ATP tournament in Hong Kong and becoming a top 10 player for the first time. He won four titles last year after struggling early in 2025, matching his showman instincts with a surge up the rankings.
After beating Bublik, Hijikata lost to Cameron Norrie of Britain in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
