Carlos Alcaraz announced on Thursday that he and coach Juan Carlos Ferrero had parted ways.
Ferrero, a former French Open champion, had been the coach of Alcaraz since 2019 and had first seen the ‘very special’ youngster play when he was only 15 years old.
As expected, discussions regarding a potential replacement for Ferrero have been widespread, and Brad Gilbert had backed a former world number one to take the job.
Ferrero’s departure means Samuel Lopez is the sole coach remaining in Alcaraz’s set-up.
Toni Nadal, the uncle and former coach of Rafael Nadal, has weighed in on Alcaraz and Ferrero’s split.
What do you make of Carlos Alcaraz’s decision to part ways with Juan Carlos Ferrero?
Toni Nadal discusses Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero’s coaching split
“Of course it has surprised me, more after such a good season. The logical thing was to continue because Alcaraz ends up as number one in the world,” Nadal said on Radioestadio Noche, as reported by Eurosport.
“I understand that the decision is Carlos’s because Ferrero has expressed that he wants to continue, so I imagine that the decision is not tennis.
“Relationships in the world of tennis are difficult because the one who pays, who is the player, usually pays to hear what he wants to hear.
“For me it was easy to tell my player [Rafael Nadal] things he did not like to hear because he was different, he was my nephew, he had another relationship.”
Toni Nadal [pictured above, right], began coaching Rafael Nadal when his nephew was a young boy, helping the 22-time Grand Slam champion develop into the tennis legend he is today.
Toni and Rafa parted ways in 2017, with Rafa hiring former world number one Carlos Moya shortly after.
Moya was Nadal’s coach until the Spaniard’s retirement in 2024.
Rafa retired from his playing career after Spain’s exit from the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. The Spaniard lost his final professional match to Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-4, 6-4.
Who would you like to see become Carlos Alcaraz’s new coach?
Why did Rafael Nadal and Toni Nadal part ways?
In 2017, Rafael Nadal and Toni Nadal ended their partnership, to the surprise of many onlookers.
In an interview with the Il Tennis Italiano website, Toni explained that he wanted to shift his focus to helping young players at his nephew’s academy.
He added that there had been growing friction in the Nadal camp, but maintained that there was no hostility between himself and his nephew.
As reported by ESPN, Toni said: “The relationship with my nephew has always been excellent, in all these years we have never had periods of crisis,”
“[But] the truth is that every year I am making fewer decisions, to the point that I won’t be deciding anything anymore.”
