Alexander Bublik will be riding high into Wimbledon after capturing the title in Halle, where he stunned world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev to win his first trophy of the 2025 season. Dating back to the start of his career-best Grand Slam run to the Roland Garros quarterfinals, the 28-year-old has won nine of his past 10 matches.
Known as much for his unpredictable style and charisma as for his powerful serve and shot-making flair, Bublik is poised to enter the summer hard-court season full of momentum. With three of his five ATP Tour titles earned on hard courts—the other two coming on the grass of Halle—Bublik will hope to eclipse his best previous US Open showing: a trip the third round in his 2019 debut.
Here are a few fast facts about the Kazakhstani star:
Bublik split two June meetings with Sinner and followed both with Instagram humor
Bublik's victory against Sinner in Halle had all the trademarks of the popular player's game: bold serving, fearless shot-making and plenty of personality. The 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win reversed a one-sided result from three weeks earlier at Roland Garros, when the Italian eased through their quarterfinal match, 6-1, 7-5, 6-0.
After their Paris meeting, Bublik joked on Instagram: "I almost got him guys." Following his Halle win, he returned with a new punch line: "I got him guys."
Bublik is 2-4 against Sinner, with both of his wins coming in Halle—though his previous victory came via retirement when he was up a set and a break in 2023.
His first serve is elite
Bublik is among the Top 10 on the ATP Tour for percentage of first-serve points won (eighth at 77.3%) and average aces per match (fifth at 12.2). While his statistics are not quite as lofty on second serve, the Kazakh is almost impossible to break when his first delivery is firing.
He was broken just three times in five matches en route to his Halle title run and did not surrender serve against Medvedev in the final. He hit at least 11 aces in each of his five wins on the German grass, including two matches with 19 aces.
Bublik is an entertainer both on and off the court
From underhand serves to daring drop shots, Bublik thrives on chaos. His matches are often part sport, part spectacle—theater perfect for the New York stage.
But Bublik is just as unpredictable off the court. In a typically frank interview at Roland Garros, he said he almost certainly would have lost his fourth-round match to Jack Draper if he did not serve out the victory at 5-4 in the fourth set.
"Sometimes in life there's only one chance, and I had a feeling that that was mine, and I couldn't let it slip," an emotional Bublik shared in an on-court interview, after a full minute's standing ovation from the Court Suzanne-Lenglen crowd. "Standing here, it's the best moment of my life, period."
In Halle, he celebrated his title by having a champagne fight with runner-up Medvedev, whom he beat for the first time in seven tries.
On the strength of his recent results, Bublik is back up to world No. 30 after dropping outside the ATP's Top 80 in March. He will be seeded at Wimbledon, where he'll defend third-round points. With next to nothing to defend beyond that during the second half of the 2025 season, Bublik has a golden opportunity to better his career-high ranking of world No. 17 by year's end.
