Tennis Insider Reveals Shocking Reason Behind the Split of Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero

Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero ended a seven-year partnership together before the start of the 2026 season.

Tennis Insider Reveals Shocking Reason Behind the Split of Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero

Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Alcaraz (via US Open)

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Key details have started to emerge from the highly talked-about split between Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero. The duo ended their seven-year partnership abruptly on Wednesday (17th December) as both announced their decisions on their social media handles.

Now, Deportes RNE journalist Javier de Diego has put forward the reason behind this split. He has stated that the reason was mainly due to disagreements over the contract extension. The breakup was sudden, but there were no heated arguments during this time.

With the Australian Open just a month away, the timing appears extremely unusual from Alcaraz’s perspective. At the moment, he only has Samuel Lopez as part of his coaching staff.

Alcaraz enjoyed a successful seven-year stint with Ferrero, winning 24 ATP titles. Out of those 24, six were Grand Slams, and eight were Masters 1000 titles.

Alarming stat of Carlos Alcaraz without Juan Carlos Ferrero

Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz has ended his long and hugely successful partnership with Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrero coached him from the age of 16 after Alcaraz joined his academy in 2018. During that period, Alcaraz won all 24 of his singles titles. These included six Grand Slams and eight Masters 1000 trophies.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

He also became the youngest world No.1 in ATP history after winning the 2022 US Open. Ferrero, a former world No.1 himself, was named ATP Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2025. Despite the split, Alcaraz will continue working within the same structure. Samuel Lopez, a coach at Ferrero’s academy, will now take the lead role.

Lopez had already coached Alcaraz at several events when Ferrero was absent. These included the 2022 Miami Open, where Alcaraz won his first Masters title, and Queen’s Club in 2023, where he lifted his first grass-court trophy. He also reached the quarter-finals of the 2024 Australian Open under Lopez.

In 2025, Lopez coached Alcaraz alone at four tournaments. Alcaraz won titles in Monte Carlo, Cincinnati, and Tokyo, but lost in the Qatar Open quarter-finals. Across seven events without Ferrero since 2022, Alcaraz won five titles. His record in those tournaments stands at an impressive 33 wins and two losses.

Former British icon reveals one aspect Carlos Alcaraz needs to learn from Jannik Sinner

Former British No.1 Greg Rusedski believes that Carlos Alcaraz needs to learn from Jannik Sinner in terms of managing his schedule. The British former star spoke about this matter on his podcast. Rusedski said on his podcast:

He missed two Masters 1000 tournaments to play in Barcelona and Tokyo , then he got injured at the ATP Finals and had to withdraw from the Davis Cup, but shortly afterward he’s playing exhibition matches in the preseason. He’s young and can recover, but I think he needs to be smarter and more astute with his schedule. He should learn from Sinner, who played the Six Kings Slam exhibition and won it, but other than that, he hasn’t done anything in the preseason other than rest and training, and he skipped the Davis Cup.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (5)
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

Sinner’s decision to skip the Davis Cup was met with a lot of criticism, especially from the Italian fraternity. However, it didn’t really impact the team overall as they won their third consecutive Davis Cup title.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz was on course to play the Davis Cup shortly after the ATP Finals. However, the injury he sustained in the finals in Turin didn’t allow him to compete in the Davis Cup. A negative result from his MRI was enough to cancel his plans for the event.

Alcaraz has been vocal about tennis scheduling in the past 18 months. At the Laver Cup last year, he went as far as saying that the ATP can potentially ‘kill’ him with the amount of strain from the tennis calendar.

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