Pablo Carreno Busta is into the fourth round of the French Open 2026, showing a level of serving that’s looked rare in recent years after elbow troubles and surgery. A dominant first-round performance, a second-round retirement that shortened his match, and a
Pablo Carreno Busta walked into the French Open 2026 with the kind of question he didn’t earn the hard way—his elbow troubles have been well documented over the past two years. including surgery. and the results followed him down the rankings. Now, with the Spaniard into the fourth round, the questions have changed.
This week has looked nothing like the stretch that came before it.
In the first round, Carreno Busta looked almost untouchable with his serve. He made 71 of 71 first serves against the twelfth seed Jiri Lehecka, winning in three straight sets. It was the kind of stat line that feels specific to a player’s mechanics on the day—clean. controlled. and confident—especially for someone whose serve has historically been a weakness.
Then came the second round, and with it a different kind of disruption. His match against Thanasi Kokkinakis was cut short in the early third set when the Australian retired mid-match. Carreno Busta moved on, and he kept the momentum going in the next round against Thiago Agustin Tirante.
That fourth-round run didn’t depend on just one lucky break. Carreno Busta took down Tirante in four sets, and again the serve stood out, with remarkable numbers adding weight to the idea that something has shifted—something the elbow issues had previously threatened to take away.
On paper, the next test is a classic contrast. Carreno Busta will face his countryman Rafael Jodar in the next match. Jodar is 19 years old and has risen sharply this year, earning the 27th seed at this tournament. The matchup puts youth against experience, but it also puts pressure on Jodar to focus.
Jodar is expected to put behind him the unfounded controversy over him shoving a ball girl. In a draw like this, distractions rarely help—especially when you’re trying to find your way through the second week.
Carreno Busta’s side of the equation is equally clear. Both players love the baseline, and while Jodar may be the speedier of the two, the match could tilt for a quieter reason: fatigue. Jodar has played a tiring match in the Parisian heat, and fatigue is very much on the cards.
For Carreno Busta, the emotion is obvious even without drama. The last two years must have been devastating. with elbow problems returning multiple times and surgery coming in the past two years. Seeing him back in the second week of a Major feels like more than a good run—it feels like proof of recovery. and it carries its own kind of relief.
Even if the Spaniard bows out in his next match, this French Open already looks like a turning point in his 2026 season, and the signs are strong enough that the rankings could start rising again.
Pablo Carreno Busta French Open 2026 Rafael Jodar Jiri Lehecka Thanasi Kokkinakis Thiago Agustin Tirante tennis rankings elbow surgery serve