Roberto Carballes Baena is a Spanish professional tennis player who was born on March 23, 1993, in Tenerife, Spain. After being introduced to the sport by parents Pio and Maria Victoria at the age of just three, the Spaniard impressed early on.
Despite being a talented footballer, too, he chose to focus his efforts on tennis. Following years on the ITF and Challenger scenes, the Spaniard made his first main draw ATP appearance at the Barcelona Open in 2013, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets.
This did not damper spirits, though, as he was back and raring to go the following season. His tenacity to perform was on full display at the 2014 Casablanca Open where, after coming through three qualifying rounds, not only did he record his first-ever ATP main draw win against David Goffin but also went on a memorable run right up to the tournament’s semifinal.
Despite this initial charge to stardom, consistency was something to improve for the Spaniard. It was only two years later, in 2016, that he made his Grand Slam debut. After several bites of the qualifying cherry in previous seasons, his luck finally turned at Roland Garros. He put up a good fight in the first round, but Adam Pavlasek edged past him in five.
The progress continued on an upward trajectory for Carballes Baena, with him soon becoming the owner of an ATP title. In February 2018, he claimed the Ecuador Open in Quito, defeating the second seed and compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the final. Always a fan of playing at altitude, having grown up in Granada, it was fitting that Quito was to be his first taste of silverware.
2020 brought more career-bests, this time at Grand Slam level, with him reaching the third round of Roland Garros. The next couple of seasons brought mixed results for the Spaniard, but notable achievements include his second ATP title at the 2023 Marrakech Open and his best ranking to date - reaching world number 49 that same season.
