Why Carlos Alcaraz may be forced to reunite with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero after shock split
Carlos Alcaraz’s decision to part company with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has been the big talking point in tennis this week, but could there be a reconciliation between the duo?
The tennis world was rocked by the news that the world No 1 had failed to agree a new contract to continue his long-running partnership with Ferrero in 2026, with the news leaving plenty of question marks over what comes next.
Alcaraz used Ferrero’s Academy as his training base and it is unclear whether that will now continue, while there is uncertainty over who will take over a lead coaching role that was filled by the former French Open champion since the young Spaniard started his professional career.
Finding a coach who has the same knowledge and passion for Alcaraz’s future will be a tough task and with the relatively unheralded Sami Lopez expected to take over from Ferrero for now, the big test of what comes next will arrive at next month’s Australian Open.
Alcaraz has a 33-2 winning record in matches he has played when Ferrero was not in his box, but he has always had his mentor at the other end of a phone for those matches.
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Now he is going it alone and if he revels in the freedom to make more decisions on his own terms, the split may prove to be the right decision at this phase of Alcaraz’s career.
Alternatively, if he fails to shine at the Australian Open, there is no reason why Alcaraz could not go back to Ferrero and try to resolve the differences to renew their partnership.
Widespread reports in the Spanish media confirm Ferrero was offered a reduced financial sum and some additional changes to the relationship that he was not happy with and that was the primary reason for the split.
Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski spoke exclusively to Tennis365 about the Alcaraz-Ferrero split, as he suggested scheduling disputes may have been a factor in the decision to part ways.
“I’m not surprised,” Rusedski told Tennis365, ahead of the second episode of his new podcast Off Court with Greg, which will be released on Monday.
“I would not be surprised if there were some disagreements over scheduling over the last few weeks because Carlos got injured in the ATP Tour event in Tokyo, he then got injured again at the ATP Finals, but he has still be playing on the exhibition circuit.
“You look at the recent documentary on Netflix and you can see that Carlos’s team want him to be ultra professional to try and reach the levels of the greats of the game like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
“You look at Jannik Sinner. He pulled out of the Davis Cup Finals and he is not playing any exhibitions. He is preparing for the new season. When Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were at the top, you didn’t see them playing too many exhibitions.
“The off-season is a crucial time of the year to prepare for the new season, but Carlos is at an age where he thinks he can keep going and nothing will happen to him. That might not be the case.”
Rusedski went on to suggest Alcaraz will struggle to replace Ferrero as he added: “How do you replace Ferrero? Who can do that job? It won’t be easy.
“He has been with Carlos from the start and he might find it hard to get a coach who can give him what Juan Carlos has given him up to this point in his career.”
