Alexander Bublik is back to Roland-Garros with another status. Surprise quarter-finalist in 2025, now a member of the Top 10, the Kazakh arrives in Paris with very strong memories and the desire to “play good tennis” Porte d’Auteuil. At a press conference, Bublik spoke about his preparation on clay, his pleasure of returning to a tournament that he considers to be “special”, but also his famous spoon serve. A blow which, according to him, is not a tactical weapon but “an entertainment tool†. True to himself, between seriousness, humor and frankness, Bublik wants to continue to chart its course in its own way at Roland-Garros 2026.
Video – Alexander Bublik in press conference before Roland-Garros
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“I think spoon serving gets too much attention”
Welcome to Paris. I just wanted to ask you how your preparation on clay has been so far?
Well, I mean, I think the preparations are complete. There’s the last week left to play, and I mean, it’s gone pretty quickly, I would say. I mean, when you finish in Miami, you always think: yes, there is still a long way to Roland-Garros. It’s still a beautiful road, you know. We’ve had three Masters, a 500 and a 250 which I love to play. And being here is a privilege. To be here for maybe, what, the seventh or sixth time in a row, to be here one more time, it’s incredible, it’s a privilege. And I’m looking forward to playing some good tennis here, enjoying the court. And I have very good memories from last year. So for me it’s a special place.
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I’m working on a topic dedicated to spoon serving. Can you explain to me how you decide when to use this move?
Oh, when I feel like it.
Yes, and is it mostly on the important points or does it not matter?
I mean, I don’t think… I think spooning gets too much attention because I don’t think it’s anything special or something difficult to do. So for me, it’s more when I want. So when I feel like it, when I feel that there is a need for a spectacle, that there is a need to relax a little, that there is a need to laugh with the opponent, perhaps by giving him the point, and depending on what you feel. I mean, there’s no tactics behind it.
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“It’s an entertainment tool.”
Do you have the impression that other players see it more and more as a tactical weapon?
I think they are very bad if they see it like that. I think they have no idea about tennis if they see it as a tactical weapon.
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What do you think it is?
I think it’s an entertainment tool.
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Last question on that. Are you tired of talking about it? Because you said it attracted too much attention.
Yes, because I don’t understand, honestly, why people are perhaps making a big deal about a move that everyone can do, and which clearly doesn’t favor the one who does it in terms of points gained. So I think, I mean, I think it’s just a fun thing to do sometimes. You know, there’s nothing bad and nothing good. It’s just a move with which you will most likely give the opponent the point. So if you want to, you know, change something, it’s fun. But I think, like I said, there’s too much attention around it. Even though I’ve been doing it since 2000, what, 2019, I don’t know when I first did it.
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But for you, it’s entertainment, just entertainment?
Sometimes, yes. Sometimes I didn’t do it for maybe three or four months because I didn’t feel the need to, you know, I just wasn’t in the mood to do it, you know, because you have to be in the mood. Because when you do it, if you win the point, you have to play to the audience, you have to, you know, play a role, you know, kind of be an entertainer in some way. If you lose it, you have to, I mean, you have to smile because you’re an idiot. You gave the guy a point. So you have to smile at that. So sometimes when you’re doing that, you’re more like: okay, I just want to do this. Because I mean, especially if it’s, let’s say, a big match, a big stadium, and you do it, you win the point, then you have to play with the crowd, and those are emotions that you waste. That’s how I feel.
