Alexander Bublik found himself back in the winners’ circle on Sunday as he lifted his sixth career title and second of the year in Gstaad. The Kazakh has been on a tear since the French Open, when he stormed into the quarter-finals and upset Jack Draper. Now, he’s been crowned the Swiss Open champion.
But Bublik, who is now back up to No. 30 in the world, months after dropping outside of the top 80, received an unusual trophy for his efforts after beating Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-4 4-6 6-3 in the championship match.
The unusual cup resembles a rock, with a hollowed-out middle and a gold ball inside. It sits on top of a wooden platform. There are plenty of extraordinary trophies on the tour, but the piece of stone handed out in Gstaad is up there.
In 2015, the tournament tried to take the traditional route and handed a regular silver trophy to Dominic Thiem, who back then was sporting a different look of his own – bleach blonde hair. But they returned to their rocky roots in 2016.
Bublik had the honour of hoisting the trophy in the air after an impressive week which saw him drop just one set across four matches. The 28-year-old has now won a tour-level title on every surface.
He’s also one of seven players to have lifted multiple titles in 2025, along with Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Flavio Cobolli, Taylor Fritz, and Denis Shapovalov, who also claimed a trophy over the weekend in Los Cabos.
The world No. 30 also picked up the ATP 500 title in Halle last month, upsetting Sinner en route. At the time, he dedicated his victory to his wife and son, and he had to honour another family member after his Gstaad victory.
“My team, my wife, my son, thank you guys. You’ve been with me forever, we’ve been through many things, this was probably one of the toughest seasons but yet it’s the greatest season I’m having. Thank you very much for that, thank you for being with me,” he started
“You know, we have a little tradition between the team that every title I win, I dedicate it to someone. The previous one in Halle was dedicated to my wife and son, and this one goes to my mother, I promised her the next one will go to you! So I know you’re watching, this one is for you.”
Bublik was also full of praise for Cerundolo, the younger brother of top star Franciso Cerundolo, and told him: “Juan, I told you at the net, this was not tennis, this was complete torturing!
“I’ve won the sixth title and I’ve played the greats of the game, but this final I will remember as one of the toughest I’ve ever played.”
And the Kazakh was delighted to play in the setting of the Swiss Alps – maybe the inspiration for the unusual trophy.
“Obviously I would like to thank the organisation, the guys who invited me to come here, it was a real pleasure, I can’t wait to come back next year,” he added.
“I mean, beautiful alps, it’s an amazing spot and I’m really happy that I’m sitting here as the winner. But nevertheless even if I would lose in the first round, the view is amazing anyway!”
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