Kazakhstan's top-ranked tennis player Alexander Bublik spoke at a press conference ahead of the start of Almaty Open-2026 about his preparation for the tournament, assessed the draw and shared his expectations for competing in Almaty. The tennis player also commented on his ten years with the Kazakhstan national team and his attitude toward the country. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Bublik began representing Kazakhstan at the end of 2016. At that time, the tennis player was ranked 214th in the ATP rankings. In 2026, he entered the world's top 10 for the first time in his career.
Answering a question about ten years of playing for Kazakhstan, Bublik recalled the circumstances of his transition and admitted that over this time he had developed a strong emotional connection with the country.
"Yes, it's a great milestone – I have been playing for Kazakhstan for exactly 10 years. I think I signed the contract around these same weeks, at this very time of year I made this transition. And it has been an incredible journey. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to play for this country, because, you know, back then... Now it's easy to say: I'm in the world's top 10, I have everything a tennis player could dream of. But back then I was just an 18-year-old guy who needed belief in himself, needed support, needed people who would care. And Kazakhstan gave me all of that.
So, you know, at first I came here as a guest, as a foreigner – just as a guy who was in some sense invited to the team. But over time I developed a strong emotional connection with the people and the country. I am always proud when I come here. I don't come here that often, but when the opportunity arises, I try to come, communicate with fans and people. I can confidently call Kazakhstan my second home. And even though in some sense I am still a foreigner, I have a deep emotional attachment to this country and its people. I am sure I will carry this through my whole life, and Kazakhstan will always be a special place and a special country for me," Alexander said.
Last year, Bublik was unable to play in Almaty due to an injury. This time, the Kazakhstani arrived at the tournament early and noted that he wants not only to show good tennis in front of local fans but also to compete for the title.
"Well, I think it's very important. I'm glad I finally came here. It was always a pity that in previous years I couldn't come. This time I came with, perhaps, zero expectations. So for me the main thing here is to enjoy myself, to give Kazakhstanis, the people who live here, good tennis and just spend time with them. I hope to show quality play and achieve excellent results, because I believe becoming the first Kazakhstani champion here would be a bright moment. I look forward to it and intend to prepare well. I arrived a little early – in fact, I have never arrived at tournaments this early, but I came here early to prepare, play well, show excellent tennis and deliver results."
Bublik is seeded third and thanks to this will skip the first round. In the second round he will face the winner of the match between Kazakhstan's Timofey Skatov and Hungary's Fabian Marozsan.
The tennis player did not assess his path through the draw in detail, noting the high overall level of opponents on the modern tour.
"So, I'm playing the winner of the Marozsan or Skatov match, yes, so... The draw is the draw. Everyone can play tennis, unfortunately, yes. I've said this before, that earlier... Earlier it was easier, earlier you could be happy about draws. Now you can't afford that, because everyone plays excellently, everyone is a big professional, everyone travels with teams, everyone prepares for matches the way no one used to prepare.
So I will focus on my game, my task is to feel the court, feel the balls, because they are different from what we played on the Asian series. Feel the court, feel the balls, understand how to play, understand what I will do here, yes, because after all an indoor court brings new, new sensations after playing outdoors. So just prepare and try to show good tennis and hope for a result."
Recall that Almaty Open runs from October 17 to 25 at the Almaty Arena. The ATP 250 tournament with a prize fund of $1.07 million is being held in Kazakhstan's southern capital for the third time.