Basel (Switzerland) - It was probably the worst document he has ever had to sign: as has only now become known, tennis star Andrey Rublev (27) gave his consent to the amputation of his testicles a few weeks ago.

The good news first: the organ could be saved in a complex operation. As the pro himself revealed at a press conference at the Stockholm Open, things were not looking good for him at all.

"I don't know how to put it in a charming way, but I can tell it in a funny way: I almost lost my egg," he explained.

After the US Open in New York, the Russian suddenly developed pain in his stomach and later in his groin. The 27-year-old lives in Barcelona, where he is coached by Spaniard and ex-professional Fernando Vicente (47).

When the two of them were on the pitch training, the pain became unbearable. So Rublev decided to go to hospital. This decision was his last-minute rescue. After thorough examinations, he was classified as an emergency and immediately rushed into surgery.

"I was very lucky, because they say you only have five or six hours when the blood stops flowing and then you have to amputate," explained the tennis star.

For this reason, he had to agree to an amputation before the procedure. "The last thing I did before the operation was to sign the document in which I agreed to the amputation of my testicles," he recalled. However, the doctors did a great job and operated on the 27-year-old for three or four hours.

The Russian now has no more complaints. He made his comeback at the China Open at the end of September, reaching the quarter-finals, and is currently in the last 16 at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.

There he will face the winner of the match between Marin Cilic (36) and Alejandro Tabilo (27) on Thursday evening.