OTW Extra Email Archive - September 2025
Notes from the Tour: Alexander the Great? Maybe...
Thursday 25th September 2025
Add this name to the ‘28 Club’...
We’ve talked a few times this season about the 28 Club. That is, players hitting their stride and having a breakthrough year on tour, age 28…
As ex-pro turned tennis broadcaster Pam Shriver put it:
“There is a maturity, a certain bit of intelligence there. You’re in the middle of your prime. I think 28 is a pretty good age to be good.”
The man we’re looking at today is Alexander Bublik…
Having celebrated his 28th birthday this June, the Kazakhstan representative is having the season of his life…
Bublik has won 4 men’s singles titles in 2025. Only world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz has won more (7)
Alexander is now up to no.16 in the world - a new career-high ranking
The 6’5” right-hander is ranked joint-6th for Most Aces this year… and 3rd for Ace % (the percentage of serves resulting in aces). Source: TennisAbstract
Bublik’s serve is a big weapon. He’s also ranked Top 5 in 2025 for 1st Serve Points Won (78.2%), and Average Aces per Match (11.8). Source: ATPTour
Bublik has won eight ATP titles in total. Half of them have come this year…
So far in 2025, he’s lifted trophies on grass, clay, and outdoor hard courts. Completing the main-surfaces full house, having previously claimed three titles at indoor hard court events.
Perhaps most significantly of all - although harder to measure on paper - is Bublik’s newfound drive to take the sport seriously. Or to go back to that Shriver quote about 28-year-olds: maturity…
The case of Nick Kyrgios…
It wasn’t too long ago that Bublik had a reputation similar to that of Nick Kyrgios: a gifted talent… serves, skills, drop-shots to die for… BUT, but… potential hampered by a combustible temperament, racket smashing, jokes and arguments…
At age 27, Kyrgios got to the Wimbledon final. He’s now 30, and has been plagued by injuries. In 2025, the Australian has a match record of: played five, lost four. A former world no.13, Nick is currently no.651 in the rankings. Who knows when and if Kyrgios will be back. Maybe next year, in this proposed ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match.
The next step for Bublik…
Back to Bublik. And while this week’s ATP 250 Hangzhou victory franks his best-season-yet form. The challenge of stepping up to the next level still lingers…
While he’s won at both ATP 250 and 500 level, Alexander is yet to shine at the very top table…
Just two quarter finals from 45 career ATP Masters 1000 appearances is not the return you’d expect from such a talent.
And in the acid test of the sport, the Grand Slams - and especially so in the men’s game, where the format moves from best-of-three sets to the more gruelling best-of-five. Bublik’s track record again falls short:
Australian Open - played 9 times - best result 2nd round
French Open - played 9 times - best result quarter final
Wimbledon - played 8 times - best result 4th round
US Open - played 8 times - best result 4th round
The positive to take there is that Bublik’s first and to date only Grand Slam quarter final came this year. Along with his best run at the US Open.
Aiming for Shanghai and Paris…
The Majors are done until 2026. The Australian Open is next in line, in January.
However, 2025 isn’t over yet…
And there are two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments coming up next month:
ATP Shanghai - Rolex Shanghai Masters - 1st October
ATP Paris - Rolex Paris Masters - 27th October
I’ll be keeping Alexander Bublik in mind when the draws are made for those two big tournaments in Shanghai and Paris. Especially if we can get some chunky Each Way prices in the Outright Winner market…
Last October, Bublik went off at 150/1 with Bet365 for ATP Shanghai, and 250/1 for Paris…
Watch this space…
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
Oliver Upstone