Rublev and tranquility in his odyssey: "Why worry about things beyond my control?"

Carlos Navarro | 6 Mar 2026 | 20.22

Rublev shared firsthand his feelings after getting trapped in Dubai. Source: Getty

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Andrey Rublev unexpectedly (and even less sought after) became one of the main figures in the tennis world in recent days. The reason was being trapped in Dubai due to the escalation of the war conflict in Iran, with the threat of missiles flying over several countries in the Persian Gulf and the impossibility of leaving United Arab Emirates by air.

Together with names like Daniil Medvedev or Karen Khachanov, the Russian and his team were forced to wait and search for alternatives to escape the Emirati country and begin what would be a true odyssey to Indian Wells. They still had some time, but the forecasts were not encouraging, and the solutions were far from comfortable or attractive. They finally arrived in California, in an odyssey firsthand narrated by Daniil Medvedev: a car trip to Oman, crossing the border (Rublev and Khachanov did it on their own, and Medvedev did it separately), a flight from the Middle Eastern country to Istanbul, and after a night in Turkish lands, another flight to North American territory.

In total, more than two days of travel, which added to the previous days where they couldn't leave their hotel in Dubai turned the stay of the Russians and the rest of the tennis players into a real ordeal. Perhaps more than one would consider that, given Moscow's nervous and temperamental nature on the court, this situation would have driven him crazy mentally... but the answer could not be, seemingly, more distant from reality.

Rublev spoke for the first time after escaping Dubai and this is what he said: tranquility and calmness in the face of adversity

The Muscovite spoke to the microphones of Bolshe, already from the courts of the Californian desert, and made it very clear that he did not lose his calm in the midst of the storm, emphasizing the nature of the situation, something that goes far beyond tennis. "Right now, my mood is good, I'm just very tired. It hasn't been an easy trip, many things have happened. I'm exhausted, and add to that the jet lag, but overall, everything is fine", Rublev began to recount with one goal in mind: not to miss the first Masters 1000 of the season.

"It has simply been an unusual travel experience. I have learned many new things, like, for example, how to cross the border to Oman. I tried to treat it as a journey. In Dubai, I went to some restaurants, tried to stay calm. I mainly thought about how to get to Indian Wells, what could be done to arrive on time. In general, I felt quite normal. Why worry about things beyond your control?" The calmness with which Andrey faced these circumstances is certainly admirable.

For a guy who won a Masters 1000 completely sick (in Madrid), who knows if this could even be a blessing.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rublev y la tranquilidad en su odisea: "¿Por qué preocuparme de cosas que escapan a mi control?"