Pablo Carreño feels like an elite tennis player again. The Asturian, 34 years old, has defeated Argentine Thiago Tirante in four sets —7-6(0), 7-5, 3-6 and 6-4— and seals his qualification for the round of 16 of Roland Garros for the fourth time in his career.
The victory has a special value for the Gijón native. Just two weeks ago he had to withdraw from the Copa Faulconbridge of Valencia due to a problem in his right shoulder that prevented him from even holding the racket normally.
"I had fluid and couldn't handle the racket", acknowledged the player himself after completing his express recovery in Paris.
Carreño revives five years later in Paris
To find Carreño's last great performance at Roland Garros one had to go back to 2021, when he also reached the second week of the tournament before falling against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Now, five years later and after a true ordeal of injuries, the Spaniard is once again among the best in the Parisian tournament and keeps alive the possibility of a round of 16 with Spanish prominence.
His next opponent will come from the duel between Rafa Jódar and the American Alex Michelsen.
A physical and mental reconstruction after years of injuries
Carreño's career has been marked by physical problems. The last major blow came in November 2023, when he had to undergo surgery for a right elbow injury.
But the problems came from afar. Already at 21 years old he had to undergo surgery for a herniated disc that seriously threatened his future in professional tennis.
Even so, the Asturian has managed to reinvent himself once more. In December 2024 he left the Ferrero Tennis Academy of Villena and opted for a new work structure at the TEC of Carles Ferrer Salat.
The change also involved new faces in his technical team: he stopped working with Samuel López, current coach of Carlos Alcaraz, to put himself in the hands of Víctor López Morón and Edu Esteve.
Move to Madrid and new physical preparation
Another of the big changes came off the court. After spending much of his life in Barcelona, Carreño moved to Madrid to reinforce his physical preparation.
There he began working with Vicente Calvo, a trainer who already helped prolong the careers of players like Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano López or Pato Clavet.
According to Calvo himself, the objective was clear: to physically strengthen a player punished by injuries and adapt his body to the demands of the circuit at 34 years old.
"We work on prevention and increasing muscle mass, in addition to explosive strength and court mobility," explained the physical trainer.
From Out of the Spotlight to Back in the Top 70
Carreño began Roland Garros ranked 89th in the ATP rankings. After reaching the round of 16, he virtually climbs to 67th in the world.
A notable sporting recovery for a player who, just a few months ago, seemed far from the highest competitive level.
In Paris, however, Pablo Carreño once again demonstrates that he still has the tennis —and the physique— to continue competing among the best.