Despite a rather successful 2025 season, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik wasn’t thrilled to be knocked out of the Beijing Masters in the second round by the eventual winner Valentin Vacherot. So, entering this year, his aim was solely to have a deep run, even if this season has been an inconsistent ride so far. But before he could even begin his campaign, things took a turn for the worse for the world No. 22.

The 19 seed was given a bye in the first round and was set to start against Tomas Machac in the second round. With him leading the head-to-head 2-0 and match predictions completely in his favor, Bublik didn’t have much to worry about, until he got one.

“Guys, I had an accident,” said Bublik on his Telegram account. “I was in a taxi in Shanghai, and then a girl completely crashed into the door. I’m safe and sound, thank God, but the door is all bent. Luckily I hadn’t even gotten out yet. It was a stroke of luck.”

Enough details are not yet out about the incident, and we may hear more from Sasha himself. But he must have certainly thought about what would become of his career if something worse could’ve happened.

Many players, however, have been in accidents before.

Back at the French Open this year, Coco Gauff had a minor incident where the car she was in hit a pole. The defending champion did not sustain any injuries but had to use alternative transportation to reach Roland Garros, where she secured a dominant win over Taylor Townsend in the first round.

One of the most prominent cases is that of Tracy Austin in 1989, when the two-time US Open champion had a serious accident on the highway in New York. Austin suffered some serious injuries, needing knee surgery as well. Having struggled with back and hamstring injuries in her career already, the accident was the last straw for the American, who ended her career in 1994.

What we do know is that he was not injured and was just as motivated to kick off his Beijing Masters run on full throttle as he took on Machac in their third meeting.

Bublik gets over the accident trauma to clinch his first win

The near miss with the car did not deter Bublik on the court.

He showed that he meant business from the very start, as he broke Machac’s serve in the first game of the match and held his serve thereafter to close out the set at 6-4.

Bublik kept up the pace in the second set as well, taking an early 3-1 lead. This time, however, Machac responded by leveling the score at 3-3. Both players held serve to take the set to a tiebreak, where Bublik raised his level on the pressure points, winning 7-4 and closing out the match 6-4, 7-6 (4).

With the win, the Kazakh moves one step closer to his ultimate goal. However, he has tough competition in the next match, and the predictions don’t exactly side with him.

In Sunday’s third round, Bublik is set to face the world No. 19, Brandon Nakashima. While this is their first meeting ever, the latter carries -161 odds to defeat Bublik (+125). But he could rely on his health to beat the in-form American.

He started the 2026 season well, winning the title in Hong Kong and posting a decent fourth-round run at the Australian Open. The Kazakh had his Top 10 debut as well, but he did come to Shanghai on the back of a three-match losing streak. His path in Shanghai is not the easiest, as he is slated to face an in-form Nakashima in the next round, with a potential meeting with top seed Alexander Zverev in the fourth round.