Breaking into the world’s top ten for the first time! Asia’s No.1 Bublik claims his ninth career title

The second week of the 2026 season is underway. In the recently finished competitions, the Polish squad under Swiatek’s leadership made the United Cup final for the third straight year and secured the championship; meanwhile, women’s singles world No.1 Sabalenka won the WTA 500 Brisbane singles crown, and Svitolina, the top seed, triumphed at the WTA 250 Auckland tournament.

Today, our focus is on a men’s event where Bublik defeated top seed Musetti 7-6, 6-3 in the ATP 250 Hong Kong final, earning his ninth career singles title. With the 250 ranking points gained, he reached a career-high world ranking of No. 10.

While Musetti has suffered seven consecutive losses in tour-level singles finals, Bublik has won five straight finals on the tour. In 2025, he claimed four singles titles: ATP 500 Halle, ATP 250 Gstaad, ATP 250 Kitzbühel, and ATP 250 Hangzhou. Currently, Bublik’s record in tour finals stands at 9 wins and 4 losses, reflecting a very high winning percentage.

Born on June 17, 1997, in Russia, Bublik originally represented Russia but officially started competing for Kazakhstan in November 2016. Compared to other players, Bublik was somewhat of a late bloomer, not winning his first tour title until 2022 at the Montpellier Open, where he defeated then-Top 3 player Zverev in the final.

After that breakthrough, Bublik continued to make progress. At the 2023 Halle Open, he defeated well-known players including Sinner (who retired), Zverev, and Rublev to win his first ATP 500 title, and he also reached the men’s singles round of 16 at Wimbledon.

Bublik’s best performance in Grand Slam tournaments is reaching the quarterfinals, having knocked out two top-10 players, Demin and Draper, at last year’s French Open. Undoubtedly, Bublik is currently in the prime of his career, and at 29 years old, he is still at an age to deliver strong results for a male player.

However, in a previous interview, Bublik revealed that he even considered retiring during the 2024 season. “By the end of 2024 (or even at the start of 2025), I was very dissatisfied with myself because I was worried my ranking would drop outside the top 100.”

Fortunately, Bublik regained confidence through consecutive wins and became one of the biggest improvers in the 2025 season. His world ranking steadily rose, and we look forward to Asia’s top player continuing to break his personal bests in Grand Slams and other major tournaments!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)