The smile on the face of Pablo Carreño Busta on Melbourne Park’s Court 8 summed up the feeling of a player who is finally feeling fully fit. The Asturias native, whose career was stopped in its tracks by an elbow injury, was reacquainted with an old friend at the Australian Open on Tuesday; victory at a Grand Slam, after a two year wait.
His 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Poland’s Yamil Majchrzak, who came through qualifying, was a huge step in the Spaniard’s tenacious comeback. After months of surgery and doubts about his future, a burning desire to return to competition was all that kept him going. Carreño is now reaping the rewards for his determination in the face of adversity.
“I hadn’t won at a Grand Slam for two years. A year and a half because I didn’t play in them for half a year as it’s difficult to get going after so long,” explained the man from Gijon, who was sidelined from competition from February 2023 to May 2024 by tendonitis in his right elbow.
“At the first tournaments I played after the injury I still had a lot of work to do, I still had some niggles. I wasn’t pain free. But now I am free from any discomfort,” revealed the Spaniard. “I feel very good again. There’s still a way to go. I know that it’s not going to be easy but I know what I have to do. And that’s an advantage. Experience, in this case, benefits me.”
As part of that journey, Carreño is embarking on a new season with significant changes to his entourage. After a long period in the company of Samuel López, who has now joined Carlos Alcaraz’s team, the Asturias native’s Villena days are behind him and he has returned to Barcelona, where his dream of being a professional tennis player began. There, he will hope to get back to playing the kind of tennis that took him into the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings in his heyday. Under the watchful eye of Víctor López Morón supervised by Albert Costa, the Gijon native took a significant step forward in Melbourne.
“In order to be at that level, it’s not just about winning first rounds, you have to go deep in these tournaments. I’m not there yet. But this is an important step. Also, because of the way I did it. It was pretty solid, confident, believing in myself and in the road we’re on. I’m happy about that, it’s a significant step forward.”
“I’m not getting excited because I’ve had no pain in my arm for a few months. I can believe it now. Everything has gone well and all the hard work was worth it. My reward is still being able to enjoy myself on court and not thinking about my elbow all the time,” explained a radiant Carreño after a hugely significant win. “I was waiting to feel comfortable on court with my game and the rest of my body. When you’ve been sidelined for so long, it’s not just an elbow problem, the rest of your body has to get used to it too. But that’s behind me now. Now I can focus on improving.”
Now Carreño is confident his body is ready for a bigger challenge, and Melbourne will provide just that. The Spaniard will face Ben Shelton in the second round of the tournament. The American is one of the biggest servers on tour, demanding high levels of fitness from his opponents.
“I have to try and make the most of it. The player that has to win now is him, I’m 180 in the world and I’m here trying to find my game again. Ben is a seed and he has a chance to have a big tournament here. I have to try and enjoy myself on court again like I did today. I’m going to try to be brave and trust my game. It’ll be a tough match but a good one. I can’t wait to get out there again.”
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