"In a surprising offseason move, men's No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has split with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, after seven years and six major titles. Thus ends one of the most successful and intimate partnerships in tennis. It began when Alcaraz was a teenager, traveling an hour from home to train at Ferrero's academy, and grew deep enough that Alcaraz often referred to Ferrero as his "second father.""
"In the relatively new era of legal on-court coaching, the two kept open a channel of nonstop chatter and gestures. A 19-year-old Alcaraz, on the cusp of his first major title in 2022, was still asking Ferrero where to serve at specific junctures in the match. Sometimes it seemed like Ferrero's chief task was emotional rather than technical: getting his overheated charge to simmer down and play simpler tennis in critical moments."
Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero have ended a seven-year coaching partnership after winning six major titles together. The relationship began when Alcaraz traveled to Ferrero's academy as a teenager and developed into a close bond, with Alcaraz calling Ferrero his "second father." Ferrero provided constant on-court guidance, often focusing on emotional management and tactical simplicity in key moments. The team made targeted technical improvements, notably to Alcaraz's serve, yielding clear gains in the 2025 season and a U.S. Open run with only three service breaks. Ferrero's message suggested the split may not have been mutual.
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