Doubles is supposed to be the loose, low-stakes part of tennis player’s week, a chance to relax with a friend on the other side of the net between singles battles. That wasn’t the case for Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in Montreal. The two Russians spent the match getting outplayed, the frustration building with every missed chance. When it finally boiled over, it was Khachanov’s own doubles partner who nearly paid the price for it.

Khachanov and Rublev were being taken apart by the Italian pair of Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Arnaldi, dropping the first set 6-1. There was a flicker of life in the second set, with the Russians up 2-1 and the fourth game tied at 30-30, when Khachanov missed a routine return. It handed Musetti and Arnaldi a gamepoint, which they converted immediately.

In a fit of frustration, Khachanov drove his racket into the court. It bounced off the hard surface and ricocheted up toward Rublev, coming close enough to his face that a slightly different angle could have meant a real injury. Khachanov wasn’t done right there. He picked the racket back up, smashed it against the court a second time, and eventually handed what was left of it to a fan sitting courtside.

Rublev and Khachanov settled down enough to win the second set, clawing their way back into the match. However, that wasn’t enough against Musetti and Arnaldi, who closed it out in a 10-point match tiebreak, 6-1, 3-6, 10-6.

Getting hit by your own partner’s broken equipment is rare in doubles, but getting hit by a partner altogether isn’t. Players are far more commonly struck by a serve or a volley while standing at the net, waiting on their partner to finish the point. It happened in Montreal itself two years ago, when Coco Gauff’s serve drifted off course and caught Jessica Pegula, her doubles partner that week, square on. Gauff apologized to her afterward on social media, and the two laughed it off. Khachanov’s version carried a sharper edge, since it came from temper rather than a mishit.

The moment was jarring mostly because of what could have happened. Neither player was hurt, and Rublev and Khachanov have built a genuinely strong partnership when they’re not losing their composure, reaching the Hong Kong final and the Indian Wells quarterfinals together earlier this year, on top of a title run in Madrid in 2023. That track record is part of why the racket toss registered as an aberration rather than a pattern within the partnership itself. The pattern, if there is one, belongs to each of them individually.

Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov Are Known for Their On-Court Outbursts

Rublev has had some head-turning on-court meltdowns in recent times, twice in 2024. During the French Open that year, the Russian visibly struggled with his emotions in his match against Matteo Arnaldi, screaming at his box, smashing his racket, and even kicking the courtside benches while in tears.

That was not the last meltdown from Rublev, as the Russian had another such moment at Wimbledon in 2024. In his match against Francisco Comesana, the Russian smashed his racket on his knee repeatedly, which left him bleeding. Rublev would later reveal that his struggle was not limited to the court but extended to his whole life as well.

Khachanov had his share of on-court outbursts as well. The Russian came very close to a default in his match against Dan Evans in 2020, when an ELC call went against him, and the Russian smashed his racket in the umpire’s chair. This is also not the first time that Khachanov has had a on-court rant at the Canadian Open. During the 2023 match against Aslan Karatsev, the Russian argued with the chair umpire after being given a point penalty for using a verbal obscenity.

With their doubles loss in Montreal, Rublev’s and Khachanov’s campaigns came to an end after opening-round losses in singles. For Khachanov, it was a big hit in his ranking points as he had reached the final last year.