Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero’s split has sent the tennis world into shock.
Ferrero’s departure is particularly surprising when considering Alcaraz has just enjoyed the best year of his career; a sentiment echoed by Toni Nadal.
Under Ferrero’s tutelage, Alcaraz won 24 ATP Tour titles, including six Grand Slams. He also achieved the world number one ranking and recently reclaimed the spot from Jannik Sinner after a two-year absence.
Who would you like to see become Carlos Alcaraz’s new coach?
Alcaraz and Ferrero’s partnership will forever be remembered as one of the most successful in tennis history.
However, a bond that appeared unbreakable has been broken, and Alcaraz will rely on the assistance of coach Samuel Lopez moving forward.
Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero share an Open Era landmark
Alcaraz and Ferrero’s partnership may be over, but their tennis careers will live on.
As per OptaAce, only four players in the Open Era have claimed the title at all four current big clay court events – these events being the French Open, Madrid Open, Monte-Carlo Masters and Italian Open.
Two of those players are Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Alcaraz has won the French Open twice, in 2023 and 2024, and the Madrid Open twice, in 2022 and 2023. He won the Monte-Carlo Masters and Italian Open for the first time this year.
Ferrero was most successful at the Monte-Carlo Masters, winning the tournament in 2002 and 2003. The Spaniard won the Italian Open, Madrid Open and French Open once each, respectively.
The other two players to achieve this feat are Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic has won three French Opens, two Monte-Carlo Masters, five Italian Opens and three Madrid Opens.
Nadal, the greatest clay-court player in history, won 14 French Open titles, 11 Monte-Carlo Masters, 10 Italian Opens and five Madrid Opens.
What do you make of Carlos Alcaraz’s decision to part ways with Juan Carlos Ferrero?
How Juan Carlos Ferrero thought Carlos Alcaraz could improve in 2023
In November 2023, Carlos Alcaraz had two Grand Slam titles to his name, having won the 2022 US Open and 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
However, despite Alcaraz’s achievements, Juan Carlos Ferrero believed there was room for improvement.
“Be more consistent in matches, don’t open doors,” Ferrero told MARCA.
“Sometimes there are mistakes and it is something that we have to improve a lot. Although it is true that he opens doors, he always competes well and at the highest level.
“He knows this, the other day he already said that Novak [Djokovic] doesn’t give you any [mistakes]. He has to improve his decision-making and he will achieve that with experience.
“Carlos is very emotional and sometimes that helps him and other times not so much.”
