In December, just weeks before the start of the 2026 tennis season, Carlos Alcaraz decided to cut ties with his coach of seven years, Juan Carlos Ferrero. With Ferrero, Alcaraz had won six Grand Slam titles and reached No. 1 on the ATP tour. The partnership was obviously a successful one.
That is partly what made the split so surprising. Ferrero seemed like an amiable person and a good coach, and wasn't the type to yell at his players during a match. But, often, what goes on behind the scenes can be much different. Not that Ferrero was a bad person, of course, but he and Alcaraz made business decisions that seemed to be an issue for the player.
Some have speculated that Alcaraz wanted to start and build his own tennis academy, and not be aligned with Ferrero's anymore. Perhaps the problem was more of a day-to-day activity issue.
Juan Carlos Ferrero makes another cut after being dropped by Carlos Alcaraz
Ultimately, Alcaraz proved he didn't necessarily need Ferrero for success on the court. Keeping coach Samuel Lopez while letting Ferrero go, Carlos Alcaraz won his first major without his longtime coach. In doing so, Alcaraz also won his first Australian Open. The victory shocked few. The player's skills are great enough on their own, no matter who his coach is.
What was surprising after the Australian Open was that Ferrero decided to unfollow the player's social media accounts. Alcaraz, it should be noted, still follows Alcaraz. While the two said all the right words after the split occurred in December, layers still exist as far as how they currently feel about one another.
Ferrero appeared to be caught completely off guard by Alcaraz removing him as his coach. Some harsh feelings might be felt by the Spaniard. He wou;dn't be wrong if the end was sudden. After all, he had a great gig helping improve likely the greatest player of the latest generation.
We might not ever know why Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero are no longer working together until, of course, one writes a book about the situation. What seems clear is that the player and coach won't be collaborating again for a long time, if ever.