Alexander Bublik Brandon Nakashima ATP ATP Shanghái 2026

Bublik succumbs to madness and injures his hand before winning in Shanghai

Carlos Navarro - 11 Oct 2026
Go to comments seciton
Bublik and the Madness in Shanghai.

Never change, Alexander. Subscribers to the madness of the Kazakh, this is how much of the audience finds him during an ATP Shanghai 2026 where he has not disappointed, doing his thing on his way to a hard-fought, dramatic victory with many stories to tell. The essence: Alexander Bublik will be in the round of 16 of the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season after overcoming Brandon Nakashima in a true match (6-7(7), 6-3, 7-6(5)); from there, the duel provided several moments worthy of immersing us in madness.

Losing such a closely contested first set, with so many swings and in which the Kazakh had a 6-4 lead in the tiebreak, as you can imagine, was not to his liking. What we did not expect was an uncontrolled reaction: he shattered his racket (which, by the way, is not out of character for the good old Bublik), threw whatever he found in the way... and channeled his anger with a new activity: he smashed the cover of the refrigerator where the players' drinks are kept with a punch, sending several fragments flying that caused a hemorrhage in his right hand. Yes, you heard that right.

This is how Bublik recovered after an incredible match to advance in Shanghai

All of this forced him to call for a medical timeout and halt the match, treating a self-inflicted hemorrhage that did not, however, take him mentally out of the match: he kept fighting, won the second set, and forced Nakashima to give his best until reaching a dramatic third-set finale, decided in a sudden death where Bublik himself managed several high-caliber passing shots to gain the advantage.

A bright horizon now lies ahead for Bublik: he will face Alexander Zverev, who is struggling with issues in his right ankle and had a tough time overcoming Quentin Halys in the previous round. It seems like a now or never opportunity for the Kazakh, who can make a significant impact and open up a section of the draw where practically everyone has a chance to advance to the final. Will he succeed?

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Bublik se abona a la locura y se destroza la mano antes de ganar en Shanghái