Carreno Busta: 'I didn't know if it would be possible to continue'

Two years ago when Pablo Carreno Busta watched the draw for the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, he was in disbelief. The Spaniard, then No. 23 in the PIF ATP Rankings, had drawn Matteo Berrettini, who earlier that year had reached World No. 6, in the first round.

“I wrote to my friends on WhatsApp and I said, 'Come on, this is crazy, the Masters 1000s. I am 23rd in the world and I play in the first round against Berrettini’,” Carreno Busta told ATPTour.com. “Come on, in the first round? I'm 23rd in the world and I have to play against Matteo?”

That week proved to be the best of Carreno Busta’s career. The mild-mannered Gijon-native not only defeated Berrettini, but went on to claim his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy, making memories for a lifetime in Montreal.

When Carreno Busta returned to Jarry Park a few days ago for the first time since that glorious week, his mindset was nowhere near the same. The 33-year-old has not played for most of the past year and a half due to elbow tendonitis.

“It's very special, of course, because I won two years ago here in Montreal, my first ATP Masters 1000. But also it's very special because the last year and a half, I was out of the Tour because of an injury,” Carreno Busta said. “To be here again is very important to me. To be on the Tour again after this long time, I didn't know if would be possible to continue playing tennis or not.”

^{Carreno Busta triumphed in Montreal in 2022. Photo: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}
Now Carreno Busta is confident he can push forward, but that was not always the case.

“Sometimes I just feel the pain when I play tennis. But there were other moments that I felt the pain all the time when I was sleeping, when I was trying to swim on the beach,” Carreno Busta said. “It was crazy because it's very uncomfortable all the time thinking if there is going to be pain or not.”

There were moments when the Spaniard, who reached a career-high World No. 10, wondered if he would need to retire.

“Sometimes I thought about it. I didn't want to do it. But when you stop for one and a half years, it's normal that you think a lot of things,” Carreno Busta said. “I didn't know [how] my life [would] continue after retiring.

“Look at Novak for example. He is 37 and continuing to play at this level. So I hope to be here on the Tour for the next few years.”

In his worst moments, Carreno Busta tried his best to enjoy time with his family and friends, especially his wife. Their support helped him remain as positive as possible.

Last October, Carreno Busta attempted to play two ATP Challenger Tour events after eight months away. But the pain was too difficult to deal with and he underwent an operation.

As tough as it was to spend so much time away from the sport he loves, it provided him a new perspective.

“I tried to work a lot to come back. I got treatments with the physios, with the doctors, I did a lot of fitness. I tried to play tennis. There were [tough] moments. But it's true that I had a lot of time,” Carreno Busta said. “In a year and a half I had a lot of time to enjoy with my family also, to do things that normally I couldn't do. For example, last summer, I went on holidays. Normally in summertime, I'm here in the U.S. or in Canada playing these tournaments. So it was different. But I think that in this moment I prefer to be here playing tennis.”

Carreno Busta played his first tournament of the year at Roland Garros, where he lost in the first round. After competing in three more events — two on clay and one on grass — the Spaniard was hurt again and unable to take the court at Wimbledon.

But now he is excited to be in Montreal, where two years ago he created one of the happiest moments of his career. He defeated Berrettini, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, Daniel Evans and Hubert Hurkacz to earn the biggest title of his career.

“It was probably the best week of my life, winning a Masters 1000,” Carreno Busta said.

“I would like just to enjoy these moments, get the extra confidence to be here and try to make a good week. I know that probably my level is not the same level of two years ago. But for me, it's very important to be here. I know I'm not 100 per cent again in this moment, but we'll see what happens. I think the most important thing is that I'm healthy, continue to be healthy and don't get injured again.”