Russian Tennis Player Andrey Rublev Writes Anti-War Message On TV Camera After Winning At ATP Finals

Tom Tapp
·1 min read
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Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev was overwhelmed after winning at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. His victory came via a two-and-a-half hour match and a marathon, 47-stroke championship point. It was world No. 7 Rublev’s 50th match win, and it came over friendly longtime rival and fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev, who was rated No. 5.

Rublev collapsed in exhaustion and relief on Monday after his final overhead slam went unreturned, earning him the match. But afterwards, he turned his attention to even more important matters.

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The 25-year-old took out a marker and wrote on the lens of a TV camera that had been covering the final, “Peace Peace Peace All we need,” an obvious reference to the ongoing war between his native Russia and Ukraine.

The Russian tennis star, like Medvedev and all Russian and Belarus tennis players, has competed without the usual flag or country appearing next to his name. It’s a result of sanctions adopted by many governing bodies both in protest of Russia’s war on Ukraine and also to stymie Russian efforts to use the players’ wins as propaganda.

Rublev made another such statement earlier this year. In February he wrote, “No war please” on a camera lens shortly after the Russian invasion.

See match point below.

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