“He can compete with Carlos and Jannik very soon”: Pablo Carreño Busta on Rafael Jódar, after losing to the 19-year-old at Roland-Garros
After losing to Rafael Jódar at Roland-Garros, Pablo Carreño Busta offered a ringing endorsement for the 19-year-old. Carreño Busta believes Jódar can soon compete with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, marking him as a rising star for Spanish tennis.
Pablo. Carreño Busta, Roland-Garros 2026 | © M. Bauche / PsNewz
Pablo Carreño Busta lost to Rafael Jódar in the Roland-Garros fourth round on Sunday, and used his press conference to make the clearest peer endorsement so far of the 19-year-old Spaniard who beat him.
“He can compete with Carlos (Alcaraz) and Jannik (Sinner) very soon,” Carreño Busta said. “I don’t know if he can do it right now, but he’ll be able to very soon. It’s his first year on tour, he’s 19, he still has a lot of room to improve. You don’t need to be winning Grand Slams at 18 to be there afterwards. Everyone goes at their own pace.”
The match itself, on his account, turned at 4-1, 40-love in the second set – a game Carreño Busta could not close out, after which the shoulder he has been managing since elbow surgery began to load. “I was starting to feel it loading up a little,” he said.
He doesn’t just play well when he’s ahead. When he’s behind, he stays there.
“It’s a shame, because I was enjoying myself on court. I was playing very well Once the shoulder went, I had to drop the power. From there, I struggled to hold his backhands, to return from far back, to take the initiative. He didn’t forgive me.”
His credit for the win went to Jódar’s persistence rather than the conditions. “You have to give him credit. He doesn’t just play well when he’s ahead. When he’s behind, he stays there. That effort he made in the second set is maybe what gave him the chance to come back.”
“It’s good news for Spanish tennis that these players are coming through,” he said. “If it falls to me to live the rise, that means I’m still here. In the future I’ll be able to tell my son: I played him, and I was slapping him about a bit — until he started slapping me back.”
He gave a forward beat for Tuesday. Jódar plays Alexander Zverev, the second seed, in the quarter-final. “He can dream of beating him. Zverev has lost very few matches on clay this year, and the ones he has lost have been against top players. It’s going to be a beautiful match for Rafa, too. A first time, probably the first time on that court. In the quarter-finals. Anything can happen.”
