Will Carlos Alcaraz regret splitting with Juan Carlos Ferrero? Former world No 4 answers
Former world No 4 Greg Rusedski thinks Carlos Alcaraz’s split with Juan Carlos Ferrero will cause “emotional turbulence” as he feels the coach was “like a second father” to the 22-year-old star.
On December 17, Alcaraz made the shock announcement that he had parted ways with Ferrero, who he had been coached by since 2018, when he was 16 years old.
The world No 1 won 24 titles, including six Grand Slams, during his hugely successful collaboration with Ferrero, who is a former world No 1 and French Open champion.
Samuel Lopez, who coaches at Ferrero’s academy, has taken the reins as Alcaraz’s main coach, having joined the Spaniard’s team in December 2024. Prior to this, Lopez had already coached Alcaraz at events Ferrero did not attend in 2022 and 2023.
Alcaraz is yet to reveal whether he will add another coach to his team to work alongside Lopez in 2026.
What did Greg Rusedski say about Carlos Alcaraz’s coaching split?
On the latest episode of his Off Court with Greg podcast, Rusedski was asked if Alcaraz is going to regret the decision to end his partnership with Ferrero.
“Well, we’re gonna find out in the next few weeks. On top of that, you can never discount a great champion. Carlos… it’s the questions from us (the media) that’s going to be bother him the most,”
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“Samuel Lopez has only lost two matches and won 30-plus when they’ve been together. Can he transition to that stage coaching on court?
“Historically, this has been the worst Slam for Carlos: the Australian Open. So he has something to prove. Will it actually give him more steel? Will it give him more mettle?
“I’m still in between two minds, but I feel it’s a huge loss to lose Juan Carlos Ferrero. And he’s not only a great coach, he was almost like a second father to him at times.
“And that causes emotional turbulence because when you have a little bit of doubt, or when you’re not playing the right way, do you have that strong person in your corner to have a word and say what is needed?
“We’re going to find out very shortly whether the split between the two is as damaging as we think.”
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