“Without his coach, he’s worse than Ruud” – Fans mock Carlos Alcaraz after reports emerge of his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero set to skip the Australian Open due to medical reasons

Juan Carlos Ferrero has been the coach of Carlos Alcaraz since 2019.

“Without his coach, he’s worse than Ruud” – Fans mock Carlos Alcaraz after reports emerge of his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero set to skip the Australian Open due to medical reasons

Carlos Acaraz (L), Juan Carlos Ferrero (R) (Sources: NDTV/ Tennis Majors)

Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz has suffered a major setback ahead of the start of the upcoming season. Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has been with the youngster since 2019, will not be able to accompany him to the Australian Open 2024 owing to a knee injury that he is still recovering from. 

Although Alcaraz had a wonderful season last year and won Wimbledon in 2023, his performance in the latter half of the year was disappointing. It led to him losing the World No. 1 spot to Novak Djokovic.

That, added to the fact that he could not appear in the 2023 Australian Open due to injury concerns, made this year’s edition extremely important for the World No. 2. Without his coach, the Spaniard will have a hard time realizing his dream of winning the Grand Slam. 

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The duo of Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Alcaraz has been pretty successful so far. They have worked together for roughly four years and Alcaraz won two Grand Slam titles and twelve ATP Tour tournaments during this time. Before Alcaraz, Ferrero was the coach of German tennis player Alexander Zverev. The Spaniard is hands-down one of the best tennis coaches in the world currently. 

Alcaraz’s form has seen a downward trajectory since his loss against Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal of the 2023 US Open. He performed extremely poorly in the Asian swing.

Despite performing comparatively better in the ATP Finals, his overall performance in the latter half of the season was below average. Thus, he needs to make a solid comeback in 2024, which will boost his confidence. Losing his coach to injury at such a crucial time and that too before such a crucial tournament is downright catastrophic for the youngster. 

Fans react to Carlos Alcaraz being coachless at the 2024 Australian Open

Since the time it was announced that Juan Carlos Ferrero’s knee surgery would not allow him to accompany Carlos Alcaraz to the Australian Open, tennis fans around the globe have been concerned for the Spaniard.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Source: Tennis365)

Some fans even went to the extent of saying that Alcaraz is nothing without his coach and that he will have a horrible run at the Australian Open. 

Coaches play a very important role in the game of tennis, even during matches, as they often give advice and instructions to the players in the middle of a match. It is definitely going to be a difficult road ahead for Carlos Alcaraz. However, it must not be forgotten that Alcaraz has won events without his coach. The expected recovery date of Juan Carlos Ferrero is also not known yet.

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