Juan Carlos Ferrero named ATP Coach of the Year
Juan Carlos Ferrero was voted Coach of the Year in the 2022 ATP Awards for the season past.
Ferrero’s efforts in helping Carlos Alcaraz achieve a record-breaking season on Tour earned him the award.
Following a standout season in which he won two Masters titles and his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, Alcaraz, 19, became the first teenager and youngest player to finish No 1 in the 50 editions of the year-end ATP Rankings.
The Spaniard finished the year with a 57-13 record having also won titles in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.
Under Ferrero’s direction, Alcaraz also made the greatest leap to year-end No. 1 in history, rising from No. 32 at the end of 2021.
“This year has been an amazing year,” said Ferrero, upon learning of his selection by fellow coaches as the ATP Award winner.
“Gladly, all the hard work has been rewarded with results and now with this amazing prize. I’m extremely happy to win the ATP Coach of the Year award. Thank you all of you for the support.”
Ferrero first saw Alcaraz at the Equelite Sport Academy when he was 13 years old and wouldn’t have known that their paths were destined to cross again.
He was also present when Alcaraz earned his first ATP Tour point and the relationship between the two is almost a father-son one.
“I saw him at 13,” said Ferrero. “He came to the academy, we trained one day, he was very small, but everyone was talking about him. He had everything he has now, but in miniature. Officially, I saw him when he got his first ATP point at 14 years of age, then you could see how he competed.
“When he arrived at the academy at 15, he was a stick, he was fast but didn’t have any muscles. Even so, we saw something very special.”
The rise of his incredible protege has not taken Ferrero by surprise.
“It’s happening very quickly, it’s a surprise to everyone, except to me, because I train with him every day and I know what he can do,” Ferrero said following Alcaraz’s US Open triumph. “I was sure that if it wasn’t this year, it would be the next. Now we want to keep going.”
The ATP will announce its year-end awards throughout this week with other player and support figures to be honoured.
READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz learning to live with a target on his back
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