Carlos Alcaraz makes another important addition to his team
Carlos Alcaraz has expanded the team around him as he has appointed a new physiotherapist, but that doesn’t mean long-time physio Juanjo Moreno has been fired or is on his way out.
Eurosport Spain has revealed that Alcaraz’s “close friend and trusted physiotherapist” Fran Rubio has started working with the four-time Grand Slam winner with their first tournament the ongoing Rotterdam Open.
The Spaniard took on Botic van der Zandschlup in his debut match at the ATP 500 tournament on Monday and Rubio was in his player’s box with Moreno back home.
According to the report, Alcaraz “wants competent and trustworthy people close to him. The Murcian increasingly prioritises the personal aspect, without leaving aside the professional, logically. In this case, Fran Rubio meets both requirements. Club mates for years, they have a great friendship and Alcaraz fully trusts his work to help him take care of his physique during some parts of the tour.”
Moreno though remains a key figure and has been part of Alcaraz’s team for several years and he “will continue to be the leader of that section”.
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The world No 3 has struggled with several injuries in his short career as he has already missed big tournaments like the 2022 ATP Finals and 2023 Australian Open due to back and hamstring problems while last year he missed the Monte Carlo Masters and Italian Open.
The Morena-Rubio partnership looks set to operate the same way as the Juan Carlos Ferrero-Samuel López gig.
2003 French Open winner Ferrero has been Alcaraz’s coach since 2016 and he mentored him to two Wimbledon titles, the French Open and US Open while he also became the youngest-ever world No 1 in 2022 after his New York success.
López joined the set-up in late 2024 and he is currently with Alcaraz and Rubio in the Netherlands.
Asked about Ferrero’s absence at the event this week, Alcaraz stated: “It doesn’t matter, it’s clear that I love spending time with Juan Carlos, but Samu is also a great coach who I trust 100%.
“I was training with Juanki at home and he knows me perfectly, Samu also knows me, I trust him 100%, so nothing changes.”
Ferrero accompanied Alcaraz to Melbourne for the Australian Open, but the world No 3 lost in the quarter-final against Novak Djokovic.
Besides Ferrero, Lopez, Moreno and now Rubio, physical trainer Alberto Lledo and agent Albert Molina are the other key figures of the 21-year-old’s team.
