The UFC star Andrey Rublev has been playing padel with after the Australian Open

After his excursions in Melbourne, Andrey Rublev has been spending some time on a different type of court.

The Russian star, ranked 15th on the ATP Tour, reached the third round of the Australian Open after defeating Matteo Arnaldi and Jaime Faria.

Rublev [pictured below] was then defeated by Francisco Cerundolo: 3-6, 6-7, 3-6.

Since losing to the Argentine, Rublev has stepped onto the tennis court to try his hand at padel: a racket sport derived from tennis and squash, which utilises the parameters of a mini tennis court and glass walls not too dissimilar from a squash court.

On Monday, the 28-year-old posted an image of himself playing padel with two very famous mixed martial artists.

Andrey Rublev plays padel with Khabib Nurmagomedov

In a post on Instagram, Andrey Rublev posted a picture of himself and Khabib Nurmagomedov on a padel court.

Khabib, who had a record of 29-0 in the UFC, was the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion ever, having held the title from April 2018 to March 2021.

Khabib [pictured below] unofficially retired from the UFC in 2020 following his final victory against Conor McGregor. His retirement was later officially confirmed by Dana White in March 2021.

The Russian star was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022 and is considered to be one of the greatest mixed martial artists in history.

Another photo included in the post saw Rublev standing alongside Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.

Makhachev is the current UFC Welterweight Champion and a former UFC Lightweight Champion.

Andrey Rublev’s next tournament

The Russian’s next event is the Qatar Open, taking place from February 16 to 21. Rublev is the defending champion at the event, having defeated Jack Draper in last year’s final.

Despite being the defending champion, Rublev is far from the favourite to win the title in 2026. Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime are all competing at the event.

Other notable names also include Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Bublik.

The event, named the ATP 500 Tournament of the Year for 2025, has a $2,833,335 prize pot.