Alcaraz’s Ferrero ‘mistake’, Rybakina ‘coming for Sabalenka’s throne’, Del Potro’s Sinner & Alcaraz verdict – roundup
Thursday’s roundup of the biggest tennis headlines features an Italian icon questioning Carlos Alcaraz’s split with Juan Carlos Ferrero.
We also have news of Andy Roddick’s verdict on Elena Rybakina’s world No 1 bid and Boris Becker’s theory on what fuelled Jannik Sinner’s incredible Masters 1000 run.
In addition, we have an exclusive interview from Juan Martin del Potro on how Alcaraz and Sinner compare to the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Here is Tennis365’s latest news roundup.
Alcaraz told Ferrero split was a ‘error’
Alcaraz parted ways with his former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in December, bringing an end to the pair’s hugely successful partnership.
Adriano Panatta, a former world No 4 and the 1976 French Open champion, has argued it was an error for Alcaraz to cut ties with Ferrero.
“At 21 or 22, with all the trophies he’d won, Carlos became more ambitious and he made an error. I would be happy for him if he went back to Ferrero,” said Panatta.
Read more: ‘Carlos Alcaraz made a mistake by leaving Juan Carlos Ferrero’, claims Grand Slam winner
Roddick on Rybakina’s world No 1 hopes
Rybakina continued her excellent start to 2026 by winning the Stuttgart Open last week, and the Kazakh’s victory saw her close the gap to world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Roddick, a former ATP world No 1, believes Rybakina “is firmly in this conversation” to top the WTA Rankings.
“You want someone to come for the throne, obviously Aryna is wearing it (the crown) very comfortably right now, but this is fun. The more in the mix, the merrier,” said Roddick.
Read more: Andy Roddick says Elena Rybakina is ‘coming for Aryna Sabalenka’s No 1 ‘throne’ in WTA Rankings
Del Potro exclusive
Speaking to Tennis365, Del Potro declared that he “can’t compare” Alcaraz and Sinner to his “very special” former rivals: Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
The former world No 3 does, however, believe that Alcaraz and Sinner “have a big opportunity to get closer” to the Big Three.
Becker’s Sinner theory
Becker, a six-time major winner, has proclaimed that Sinner was “really upset” by losing to Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals in January.
The German legend thinks Sinner’s sensational run of form is a result of him being “desperate to prove that what happened in Melbourne was an exception.”
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
