Pablo Andújar · Biography

In April 2018, ranked No. 355 in the world and coming off three elbow operations, Pablo Andújar Alba won the ATP event in Marrakech, beating Britain’s Kyle Edmund 6-2, 6-2 in the final. That title, the fourth of his career, capped a recovery many had written off. Born in Cuenca on 23 January 1986 and raised as a player in the Valencia region, Andújar was a right-hander with a two-handed backhand and a clay-court specialist. He spent two decades on the professional circuit and reached a career-high No. 32 in July 2015.

Early years and junior career

As a boy he played at the El Collao tennis club in Manises, in the academy run by Juan José Cabrera Marquina, and later settled at Club de Tenis Valencia, his training base throughout his career. His long-time coach was Marcos Esparcia. As a junior he rose to No. 5 in the combined rankings in June 2004, the same year he reached the boys’ quarter-finals at Roland Garros. He turned professional in the mid-2000s and worked his way through Futures and Challenger events before establishing himself on the ATP Tour.

First titles in Casablanca

His first ATP final came in Bucharest in 2010, a defeat to Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela. In April 2011 he won his first ATP title in Casablanca, beating Potito Starace 6-1, 6-2. He reached two more finals that year, losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero in Stuttgart and to Florian Mayer in Bucharest. In 2012 he defended his Moroccan crown, defeating Albert Ramos 6-1, 7-6 in the final. That December he reached his best doubles ranking, No. 74.

Gstaad, Barcelona and the 2015 peak

In July 2014 he won the Swiss Open in Gstaad, beating Juan Mónaco 6-3, 7-5. The 2015 season was his best: he reached the Barcelona Open final, where he lost to Kei Nishikori, made the third round at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and on 13 July 2015 climbed to No. 32 in the ATP rankings. That summer, however, the elbow trouble that would shape the next few years began.

Three operations and a comeback

Between March 2016 and April 2017 he had three elbow operations with three different surgeons. He returned in January 2018 and lost five of his first six matches. In April he won the Challenger in Villena, beating Alex de Minaur in the final, and a week later, using a protected ranking, he took the title in Marrakech. He also won Challenger events in Buenos Aires and in the Alicante area that year. In March 2019 he returned to the Marrakech final, losing to Benoît Paire, and that September he produced his best Grand Slam run: the fourth round of the 2019 US Open, where Gaël Monfils knocked him out.

Federer, Tokyo and doubles

On 18 May 2021 in Geneva he beat Roger Federer 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the Swiss player’s first tour match after more than a year out following two knee operations. He came back from 2-4 down in the deciding set and ended Federer’s run of 32 straight wins on home soil. That year, as an alternate pairing with Pedro Martínez, he reached the doubles semi-finals at Roland Garros, and at the Tokyo Olympics he lost in the first round of both singles and doubles, the latter alongside Roberto Carballés. In 2022 he reached the third round of the Australian Open. He finished his career with seven ATP doubles finals and no titles.

Farewell

In December 2022 he announced that 2023 would be his final season. He played his last ATP main-draw match at the Barcelona Open in April 2023 and that year became one of the player representatives on the ATP Board, having sat on the Player Council in 2021 and 2022. He said goodbye in Valencia at the Copa Faulcombridge Challenger: on 21 November 2023 he lost in the first round to Martín Landaluce 6-3, 6-2, closing an ATP career of four titles and five lost finals.