Andrey Rublev has given a heartbreaking explanation for his “out of order” behaviour on the tennis court.

The world No. 6 was defaulted in Dubai earlier this year and had two huge meltdowns at the French Open and Wimbledon.

But he has turned things around at the Canadian Open, where he admitted he struggled with depression “for many years”.

Rublev is through to the final in Montreal after an impressive week which saw him upset world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final. After beating the top seed, he said it was a special moment given his struggles over the last few months.

The 26-year-old has had a rough year, suffering early exits in most events and becoming involved in heated outbursts which often end with him smacking himself with his racket. And Rublev has now confessed that his tempers were a result of his depression.

“Mentally I was out of order. I don’t know how you can say it. Everything,” he explained after beating Sinner. “I guess it was already long moment of everything, and I start to burn out because I was struggling for many years with depression, with many things outside of the court.

“I guess this year it’s when I couldn’t handle it anymore, and it starts to just explode. It start to explode more and more on the court because in life I was able to stay calm, but inside the court I was burning everything. In the end, yeah, I was struggling. Now last months I feel really good, and straight away tennis is better.”

Rublev backed up his win over the top seed by beating Matteo Arnaldi to advance to the final. Afterwards, he was asked to share some advice for those who were also struggling. He replied: “Tough question because I also need that advice.

“I mean, the one thing I guess I hope I learn and I would like to learn when I was more younger is to… how you say this… to do everything [with] awareness. Like any decision you take or any feeling you are feeling or emotions, to be aware of that, where exactly it’s coming from, why, and to be aware that it’s your decision.”