Alexander Bublik narrowly avoided serious injury after a car slammed into the door of the taxi he was travelling in, just as he was about to open it and get out. The incident took place in Shanghai ahead of the Shanghai Masters, where he is due to begin his singles campaign against Tomas Machac.
Incident in Shanghai
Bublik, who was knocked out in the first round of the recent China Open by eighth seed Jakub Mensik, has remained in the country for the Shanghai Masters. He also reached the semi-finals of the doubles at the China Open alongside playing partner Shang Juncheng, where they were beaten by Dutch duo David Pel and Sander Arends.
In a video posted on his Telegram channel, Bublik recounted the scene before deleting the post. He said: "Guys, small incident. We were getting out of the taxi in Shanghai and a girl hit the door. I'm fine, thank God, but the door is completely bent the other way. Thank God I hadn't put my leg out. God protected me."
Other players affected
Bublik isn't the only high-profile player to be involved in a minor car accident in recent months. Earlier this year, Coco Gauff was caught up in a similar incident while travelling to Roland Garros to face Taylor Townsend.
At the time, she explained: "We got in a mini car accident on my way to the site today. We ran into a [pole]. You felt a little impact. I spilled my juice all over the car. The car was not drivable, so we ended up taking a taxi.
"And then right before I went onto court, my dress got stuck, so my physio was in the bathroom trying to help me take it off. It was an eventful day, but I feel like whenever that happens, it lets you not think about the match too match. I'm just happy to be here in one piece."
Naomi Osaka, meanwhile, was a passenger in a car that was hit by a bus shortly before launching her own French Open campaign. She recalled: "I realised that in dangerous situations, I don't really panic. I just think very slowly, 'Okay, this is happening'. I wasn't afraid for my life, but I did think, 'Wow, this bus is really crushing our car'.
"You could clearly hear the car breaking as it kept pushing us. The weirdest part was that the bus kept moving forward and forward. For a moment, I even thought it was going to flip our car completely."
Expected to play
Bublik is still expected to play despite the frightening incident, and he will also team up with US Open finalist Ben Shelton for the doubles at the Shanghai Masters.
