Busta is one of the raw talents that is emerging from Spain thanks to the brilliance of Rafael Nadal.
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How many people can claim to have denied the world’s best player their ultimate dream twice? In 2020 and 2021, Novak Djokovic, the ultimate player in modern Tennis, was beaten by this player on two occasions. One by default and the other by sheer skill. The one loss in 2020 blemished his near-perfect record till then. In 2021, the ultimate dream of an Olympic medal was snatched. That is the blow that Pablo Carreno Busta inflicted on Novak Djokovic in the US Open and Tokyo Olympics. Busta is one of the raw talents that is emerging from Spain thanks to the brilliance of Rafael Nadal. He has achieved success in several ATP tournaments and has shown the potential to do well in Grand Slam events. It could only be a matter of time before he emerges as a Grand Slam winner. But, age is not on his side and he will be determined to break the jinx.
Born in Gijon on July 12, 1991, Busta turned professional in 2009 at the age of 18. After playing for three years, Busta suffered a serious back injury that required surgery. After being sidelined for five months, he struggled to make an impact. Busta serves right-handed and has a slight side-on action when he serves. He employs the two-handed backhand and is predominantly a baseline player.
As a teenager, Busta had a great start in the ITF circuit. He reached 18 singles finals and won eleven of these. The high was winning six tournaments in 2013. He also won two challenger titles from two finals in 2011. All these wins saw him reaching a career-high singles ranking of no. 133.
In 2013, Busta won 42 out of 43 matches on the ITF Circuit, Busta entered the qualification stage of the 2013 Grand Prix Hassan II in April, held in Casablanca, Morocco. He won his three qualifying matches, and then beat first seed and two-time Grand Prix Hassan II champion, Pablo Andujar, 6–4, 2–6, 6–3. He lost in the following round to eventual runner-up, Kevin Anderson. Later, Busta reached the semi-final stage of the 2013 Portugal Open, before losing to Stan Wawrinka in three sets.
Busta participated in his first-ever grand slam tournament when he was a qualifier at the 2013 French Open. He won his three qualification matches, before losing to Roger Federer in straight sets in the opening round.
Samuel Lopez, the leading man, and two of Pablo’s coaches share the same country. Samuel Lopez, a former member of the Spanish National Tennis Team, participated in the squad’s successful trips to the Sydney Open in 2000 and the London Open in 2012. At the age of 22, he turned pro and helped his tennis coach, Antonio Martinez Cascales, found the JC Ferrero-Equelite Sports Academy in Villena. Samuel Lopez’s first apprentice was Juan Carlos Ferrero, who happens to be Pablo’s favourite musician. Pablo Carreno Busta, Nicolas Almagro, and Guillermo Garcia Lopez have all successfully won an ATP title with Carlos as their mentor. Throughout his career, he has also worked with players like Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Ventura.
In 2016, he began working with Pablo, helping him win his first ATP title at the Wiston Salem Open, where he defeated renowned Spanish tennis player Roberto Bautista Agut in the championship match. Pablo’s success was greatly influenced by Lopez, who guided him to four individual career victories and the top ten (10) of the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings in that year.
