Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev, the 2020 Olympic mixed doubles champion and widely regarded as one of the sport’s top players, found himself at the center of a lighter moment during a dramatic US Open first-round match against France’s Arthur Rinderknech. The moment was shared and commented on within Rublev’s team and quickly picked up by fans online, highlighting the human side of elite competition. The episode, casually described in a post on Championship.com, captures how athletes juggle pressure, routine, and occasional indulgences amid a major tournament run.
During a transition, Rublev signaled with a lighthearted gesture that suggested he might be carrying a post-meal belly. He quipped that he had eaten and drunk too much, joking that a small passenger seemed to be settling in his stomach. The moment, meant in jest, drew surprised laughter and a mix of amusement from teammates and onlookers—an ordinary ticker tape of a long match, not unusual in the high-energy world of professional tennis.
The US Open press service acknowledged the moment on social media, choosing a playful tone while keeping the focus on the competition. The exchange read that Rublev does not eat children, paired with a tearful-laugh emoji to signal humor and warmth rather than hostility. The post stands as a reminder that the sport’s most intense moments also host human, relatable reactions, even for athletes at the pinnacle of success.
The match itself stretched across more than four hours, finishing with a four-set result. Rublev delivered 26 aces and eight double faults as he and his opponent exchanged momentum. Rinderknech showed resilience with a strong serving performance, including 18 aces and seven service faults. The scoreboard final line painted a narrative of a match with shifts in rhythm, stamina, and tactical adjustments that kept spectators on the edge of their seats long into the evening.
In the subsequent round, Rublev would meet Czech player Jiri Lehecka, a competitor who had also battled through five sets in another memorable encounter against American Mitchell Kruger. Lehecka appeared to push through a challenging segment, narrowly losing a tight second set by a decisive 0:6, before balancing the rest of the match in a lengthy, comeback-oriented sequence. The final scoreline reflected a multi-phase battle, showing Rublev’s capacity to adjust through long matches and stay competitive as rounds progressed.
Earlier in the tournament, a separate post from a Russian player, Karen Khachanov, reflected on the emotional toll of a US Open exit, describing the moment through clubbing imagery. The remark underscored how a season’s culmination can trigger a spectrum of feelings, from elation to exhaustion, and how athletes translate those emotions into public conversations that resonate with fans, analysts, and fellow competitors. The broader takeaway remains that major events test not just technique and endurance, but also the way players process outcomes and carry forward into the next challenge. [citation: Olympic Committee records, 2020; tournament coverage, official US Open communications]