The days of Juan Carlos Ferrero coaching Carlos Alcaraz are over. Alcaraz made the shocking move of seemingly firing his coach of seven years just a couple of weeks before the 2026 season was set to begin. The ATP No. 1 announced on social media, and the coach followed with a post of his own.
Ferrero implied he was at a loss for his termination, and even wrote that he could continue to coach the younger Spaniard. A new coach for Alcaraz wasn't immediately known, but after so much run of success, one is right to wonder why Carlos Alcaraz would make the change.
He is still just 22 years old and has been coached by Ferrero for seven years. Together, they have won six Grand Slams (two trophies each at Wimbledon, the French Open, and the US Open), and the player has spent 50 weeks atop the ATP rankings. That includes finishing as the year-end No. 1 twice.
Carlos Alcaraz shockingly splits with longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero
One place Alcaraz hasn't found success is the Australian Open. Instead, ATP No. 2 Jannik Sinner has made that tournament his own in the last two years. Perhaps, wishing for a faster start to any given year, Alcaraz wanted a coach who might prepare him more quickly.
It is telling that the player did hire Samuel Lopez to coach alongside Ferrero in December 2024, so maybe Alcaraz simply likes to make his business decisions in the month before a new tennis season begins. Still, the split with Ferrero is stunning, and seemingly out of the blue.
Writing on X/Twitter, Alcaraz thanked Ferrero for the years working together and the success the two achieved. He wrote, in part, "Thank you for turning childhood dreams into realities...I wish you all the best from the heart in everything that comes. I’m left with the peace of mind of knowing we didn’t hold anything back, that we gave everything we had for each other."
As part of the coach's comments on Instagram, he said, "I wish I could have continued. I am convinced that good memories and good people always find a way to cross paths again."
Tennis fans have a right to wonder why the separation occurred. It wasn't as if Carlos Alcaraz wasn't adjusting and adapting to what opponents were doing against him, especially his likely longtime rival, Sinner. The Spaniard has the speed and power, and the brilliance of ball-striking, that will carry him to victories no matter who is coaching him.
The question will be if Alcaraz falters a bit early in the year, if fans and analysts will begin to wonder if Ferrero might have helped him get back on track. That much will play out beginning in January.