18 months on, Carreno Busta dreaming of ‘feeling like a tennis player again’

Pablo Carreno Busta is returning to tennis in style... at Roland Garros. The Spaniard, who has been sidelined for almost a year and half because of an injured right elbow, will play his opener on Monday against Mariano Navone with a goal that may sound simple, but in his situation is a sizeable challenge: to feel like a tennis player once more.

Carreno Busta, champion at the ATP Masters 1000 in Canada in 2022, bronze medallist at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and former No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings, began his on-court comeback at ATP Challenger Tour events in Alicante and Malaga in late 2023. However, given the fact that he was still in pain and was not feeling his game, he decided to have an operation as an attempt to wake himself from a nightmare that is finally about to end in Paris.

Before his first Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter with Navone, Carreno Busta sat down with ATPTour.com to talk about his ordeal across the last 18 months.

Can you summarise what happened to you over the last year and a half?
I was close to the Top 10 at the end of 2022. I think I finished 11th because Rune won in Paris, and he overtook me. That means that it was definitely the best year of my career, having won a Masters 1000 in Canada. In November, at the Davis Cup, my elbow started to bother me. The doctor from the Spanish Federation looked at me and told me it was tendonitis, that I should be careful because it needed looking after. Then I was planning to rest because it was the end of the year and preseason was coming. I thought I’d recover. We started treatment and it went well, but then something else happened to me in Australia. I stopped again and when I restarted my elbow was bothering me again. I stopped again. I was going to restart but I had a tear in my forearm, then my elbow really started bothering me. It was a series of things that I wasn’t expecting, of course. After the Davis Cup I didn’t think it was too important and I thought I’d be in perfect shape at the start of the new season in Australia. It just got longer and longer.

And now you’re back after a year and a half without playing.
I played two Challengers last October to start with. It was fine, I felt good. I’d had stem cell treatment. I played the first tournament and lost in the first round to Pedro Martinez, but I had no elbow problems. When I went to Malaga to play in the other Challenger it started to bother me again in practice before the event. I took anti-inflammatories. I won the first match, even though my game didn’t feel good. In the second match it was really painful, and my elbow was swollen. We decided to operate. I stopped playing tennis for six weeks after the operation. After that I always had a racquet in my hand. Sometimes going hard, sometimes taking it easy, but I didn’t compete for a really long time.

Isn’t it too much, coming back at Roland Garros?
With the way my recovery was going, I never set a specific date. The idea was to start playing the odd small tournament, like a Challenger or qualies in an ATP 250, to get into it. In the end, it’s not just my elbow, you also have to think about the rest of your body after so long without competing. My plan was to start two weeks before Roland Garros, at a Challenger. Everything was ready. On the Wednesday of the week before I felt some pain again. I went to see the doctor, he did a scan and told me it was nothing serious, that I had a minor muscle edema as the result of going a little too far with loads in some of my practice sessions. I had to lower the intensity of my serve because the rest of the shots I’d been practising at full tilt for almost a month. Anyway, I wasn’t able to play in that Challenger. This week I’ve been practising well and now Roland Garros is coming. I’ve been signed up here with my Protected Ranking for six months and I can’t play another tournament. Honestly, I don’t want to wait longer.

Did you disconnect from tennis?
Mainly at the beginning. When I injured myself and could see it wasn’t improving, I found it really hard mentally. I watched the Carlos [Alcaraz] final at Wimbledon, of course. But following the Tour and checking results, I didn’t do that. I was constantly talking with friends like Roberto Carballes Baena or Pedro Martinez, but I wasn’t that involved. When I could see some light at the end of the tunnel, and I had to think about my calendar for my return, I got motivated and was hooked on it again. Then when it started hurting again and I had to stop... it’s like your world comes tumbling down again.

What did you do with all that free time? It’s not normal for an elite tennis player…
I had a lot of time, but I did keep playing and training. In the end, it’s not the same as someone who’s retired and has a lot of free time. I was at home, but really focused on my recovery, which is what I wanted. I really focused a lot on what I had to do: go to the physio at whatever time, practise... I also had time to do things with my wife: go to Madrid, see Aladdin, some PlayStation, although the latter not too much.

Did you seek the help of a psychologist?
It’s tough what happened to me, but I haven’t worked with anyone new. The person who is with me the most is my wife, and she’s the person who had to put up with me the most. Obviously, she could tell straight away if training had gone well or not. Even if you try to hide it, your mood shows through. Especially with someone who knows me as well as she does. It’s the same with Samu [López], my coach, and with my family.

Did you think it was the end?
I did think that. I don’t know if I really believed it, or if it was pure anger because things weren’t going my way. In the end, I was hopeful that wasn’t the case. I thought about it, but I didn’t really want to.

If it had ended, would you say your career is better than you ever dreamt?
Definitely. I went to Barcelona at 15. That’s when I thought I would play tennis as a professional, something I hadn’t considered until then. I didn’t imagine I would achieve all these things.

So, is the goal to just play again or to try and get back to where you were when it all started to go wrong?
That’s my intention, given what the doctors tell me. The first thing is getting back on court. Once I’m on court, we’ll see how I am. What if I can’t play three straight matches pain-free? Then I’ll think about solutions. What if I can play pain-free but I don’t win? I’ll give it some time because I’ve been sidelined for so long. In the practice sessions I don’t think I’m too bad. Of course I’m lacking certain things: rhythm, playing instinctively, movement, etc. These are the things I’ll get from competing.

What are you hoping to get from your first round at Roland Garros?
To win, but being realistic I think it’s very difficult. Also, I’ve been drawn against a player [Mariano Navone] who’s having a spectacular year on clay. Maybe that’s good because it will give me a lot of rhythm. The result will be relatively insignificant right now. At the moment, my goal is to play, get the ball rolling, find my game, routines, and to feel like a tennis player again.

Editor’s note: This story has been translated from ATPTour.com/es.