Carlos Alcaraz reportedly pinpointed Andy Murray as his new coach last year amid tension with former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. It was earlier this month when the world number one announced his split from Ferrero after a successful seven-year stint together.
Ferrero, a former top seed in his own right, led his compatriot to six Grand Slam titles, with their last one together coming in September when Alcaraz, 22, defeated Jannik Sinner to secure his second US Open crown. Regarded as one of the best coaches in tennis, Ferrero recently won the ATP coach of the year award in tandem with Alcaraz’s other coach Samuel Lopez.
Given the number of successes the pair had achieved together, their split came as a huge shock to the tennis community. However, reports following their break-up suggested that growing tensions between Ferrero and Alcaraz’s inner circle had been brewing for years.
According to Spanish outlet Punto de Break, a rift had been created between the two parties, with Alcaraz wanting to go in a different direction regarding his career instead of wanting to continue his long-term relationship with Ferrero. It was in late 2024 that the outlet claim Alcaraz’s camp first wanted to remove Ferrero from his post, with plans to appoint Murray as his coach.
However, the three-time Grand Slam champion had already agreed to become part of Novak Djokovic’s coaching setup prior to the Australian Open at the beginning of 2025. Alcaraz has yet to appoint a new permanent head coach in the wake of Ferrero’s absence, with Lopez currently in the role of interim coach.
Regarding the details of his departure from Alcaraz’s team, the former French Open winner told Marca: “Everything seemed to be going well. It’s true that when a year ends, certain things need to be reviewed regarding contracts. And as with any new contract, looking ahead to the following year, there were certain things we disagreed on.
“As with all contracts, one side pulls in one direction and the other in another. Carlos’ camp thinks about what’s best for him, and mine thinks about what’s best for me. There were certain issues on which both parties disagreed. Perhaps they could have been resolved if we had sat down to talk but, in the end, we didn’t – and we decided not to continue.
“That’s really what happened. There are points I won’t go into detail about, but we disagreed on them and, ultimately, we went our separate ways.” Ferrero revealed that at the end of the ATP Finals where Alcaraz lost in the final to Sinner, he and the rest of the Spaniard’s team believed their partnership was set to continue.
In his statement, Ferrero said: “It’s been a very good year, and when it ended [at the ATP Finals] in Turin, it’s true that we all had the idea that we were going to continue. Then what happened, happened, and we went our separate ways. But initially the idea was to continue, and that’s why I told him in the statement.”