A dream replacement for Carlos Alcaraz’s coach at the Australian Open

Carlos Alcaraz will not have a coach at the Australian Open. Or at least, he won’t have his current coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrero is scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and will not be able to fly to Australia to help Alcaraz work his way through the tournament. According to Marca, Ferrero will likely be out until early March when Alcaraz is scheduled to play the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, California.

While Ferrero does already have a stand-in set up for him with Samuel Lopez, I think Carlos Alcaraz could do better and get someone who knows first-hand how to play in the Australian summer heat and be in a partnership that would be mind-blowingly entertaining for tennis fans. Instead of Lopez, maybe Alcaraz could just temporarily make Nick Kyrgios his coach.

It makes complete sense really. Kyrgios is sitting out the Australian Open as he is still dealing with getting back in form from recent injuries. He also knows the mental and stressful side of tennis and even offered to help Andrey Rublev after watching Rublev have a complete meltdown during the ATP Finals.

Carlos Alcaraz should team up with Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open

While Kyrgios is a bit of a wild card on the court, off it he offers great insight and what to expect from each player. But most importantly, it’s about the heat.

In his short career, Carlos Alcaraz has numerous times suffered from cramping. One reason he was pushed out of the French Open semifinals against Novak Djokovic is that Alcaraz could not stop cramping. How to hydrate on the courts in Melbourne could decide how long of a run he makes in Australia.

A temporary assignment as a coach also would work for Kyrgios. He probably wants to return to playing some at this point. Even if he doesn’t, this short-lived deal would give him a real indication if he might want to turn into a full-time coach.

Plus, just imagine how insane the Melbourne crowd would be if Carlos Alcaraz was playing in the men’s final with Nick Kyrgios at his side. This is especially true if Holger Rune and his coach, Boris Becker, also make a run to the final. That would also make for a great few episodes if Netflix decides to have a Point Break season 3.