Marat Safin spotted for the first time with Andrey Rublev after joining Russian's coaching team
Andrey Rublev was spotted training with Marat Safin for the first time since reports emerged that the two-time Grand Slam champion had joined his coaching team. They were seen working together on clay at the 4Slam Tennis Academy in Spain.
A few days ago, Russian tennis journalist Sofya Tartakova reported that Safin had joined Rublev's team ahead of the clay swing. On Tuesday, April 1, the collaboration was finally seen in action as videos of the same were shared on X.
27-year-old Rublev would be eagerly waiting for the clay season as he has earned most of his success there. The Russian has won two Masters 1000 titles (Monte-Carlo Masters 2023 and Madrid 2024) on clay. He has even won a doubles Masters 1000 title on clay with Karen Khachanov in Madrid in 2023.
Marat Safin helped Andrey Rublev come out of a "loop" of mental health struggles
Earlier in the year, Andrey Rublev, who has been outspoken about his mental health struggles, opened up about his recent issues. Talking about his Dubai default from last season, he said that he had moved on from that incident. Andrey Rublev told The National newspaper:
"I was in a loop, lost with myself for a couple of years of, I don't know, not finding the way, not understanding what to do, what for."
However, last July, he claimed speaking with Marat Safin, who is also familiar with the on-court outbursts, helped him. He shared:
"He made me understand myself. That was a bit of a restart from the bottom. I was able little by little to start to move in a better direction.
"I'm not happy. I'm not in a good or bad place, but I'm not feeling any more stress, I'm not feeling anxious, I'm not having depression. I'm just neutral. At least I found a base. That's a beginning," he added.
Rublev has consistently reached a tour-level final every year since 2017 and won a title since 2019. In 2025, he has already made his mark by winning the Qatar Open, an ATP 500 event. However, since then, he has been in surprisingly bad form.
Rublev is on a three-match losing streak, exiting each of his last three events in his campaign openers. He has been out of the Top 10 for a very brief period in 2022 since he entered the elite list in 2020. Currently ranked World No. 9, he has added Safin to his team to help maintain his record as the clay swing looms.