Roberto Carballés Baena (Spanish pronunciation:[roˈβeɾtokaɾβaˈʝesβaˈena];[2][a] born 23 March 1993) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 49 on 10 April 2023 and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 127 on 2 March 2020. He is currently the No. 4 Spanish player.[3]
Carballés Baena's preferred surface is clay, on which he has won two ATP titles and 11 Challenger titles in singles, and one ATP title in doubles.[4][5]
Career
2014–2015: First ATP win
In a first-round contest between two qualifiers, Carballés Baena recorded his first ATP World Tour win at the 2014 Casablanca Open when he defeated David Goffin of Belgium in straight sets.[4] He followed this up with a tightly fought win over João Sousa in the second round. He faced lucky loser Andrey Kuznetsov in the quarterfinals and won in straight sets. His run was stopped in the semifinals by eventual championGuillermo García-López, again in a close three-set match.
2016–2018: Major, Masters and top 100 debuts; first singles ATP title
In March 2016, Carballés Baena made his Masters 1000 debut as a wildcard at the Miami Open, losing to Aljaž Bedene in three sets in the first round.
The following month, he made his debut at his home Masters, the Mutua Madrid Open, where he won two qualifying matches to reach the main draw. In May, he made his Major debut at the French Open after qualifying.
In February 2018, Carballés Baena won his first ATP title at the Ecuador Open Quito, defeating second seed Albert Ramos Viñolas in the final. He became the first Spanish qualifier to win a title since Nicolás Almagro at the 2006 Valencia Open. This victory resulted in him reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 72.
2020–21: First doubles title & French Open third round; Olympics debut
At the 2020 French Open, Carballés Baena reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. He defeated ninth seed Denis Shapovalov in the second round to record his first top-20 win and first victory in five sets[6] before retiring in his next match against 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
In April 2021, Carballés Baena won his first title of the year at the Belgrade Challenger. In May, he qualified for the Masters 1000 in Rome for the first time.
Carballés Baena qualified to represent Spain at the 2020 Summer Olympics in singles and doubles partnering with Pablo Andujar. In September 2021, following his US Open second round showing, he reached his third Challenger final of the year as a top seed at the Murcia Open in Spain, losing to second seed Tallon Griekspoor in three sets. At the same tournament, he also reached the final in doubles partnering with Alberto Barroso Campos.
2022: First hard court ATP quarterfinal
At the Firenze Open, Carballés Baena advanced to his 15th ATP quarterfinal, his first on a surface other than clay, defeating second seed Matteo Berrettini, his third victory over a top-20 player.[7]
2023: Second ATP title and top 50 debut; First Masters third round
At the Córdoba Open in February, Carballés Baena broke the record for the longest match ever in tournament history when he lost to compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles in three hours and 26 minutes in the first round. The previous-longest match was in 2020, when Albert Ramos-Vinolas outlasted Pablo Andújar in three hours and 20 minutes.[9]
Five years after his first ATP title, he won his second at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh, defeating fifth seed Maxime Cressy in the first round, fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor in the quarterfinals, second seed Dan Evans in the semifinals, and Alexandre Müller in the final.[10] As a result, he moved to a new career high in the top 50 at world No. 49 on 10 April 2023.[11]
A few weeks later, Carballés Baena won a match at the Madrid Open for the first time in his career and only his fifth win at the Masters 1000 level, defeating David Goffin in the first round before losing to 13th seed Alexander Zverev in three sets in the second round. He then won his first match ever in Rome, defeating Hugo Dellien in the first round. In the second round, he defeated Dan Evans for a second time in the season in a marathon lasting almost four hours — the then-longest best-of-three-set match of the season — to reach the third round of a Masters tournament for the first time in his career.[12]
At the US Open, Carballés Baena was again drawn to play Rune, this time in the first round. He defeated the fourth-seeded Rune in four sets to record his first-ever victory over a top-10 player.[7] In the following round, he lost to Aslan Karatsev in four sets. Carballés Baena then competed at the Copa Sevilla as the top seed, winning and successfully defending his title.
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