Carlos Alcaraz Makes Feelings Clear as Ex-Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero Set to Start New Chapter in Tennis

Given that he brought Carlos Alcaraz to the youngest No. 1 in the sport, the tennis world is eager to know about Juan Carlos Ferrero‘s next project. The former World No. 1 himself admitted to getting back on the coaching carousel starting in 2027, but did not commit to which player’s camp he would be joining. However, his former mentee, Alcaraz, spoke about Ferrero’s comeback, revealing his emotions.

“I am really happy that he is coming back to the tour. See him around. It is going to be great,” said Alcaraz in an interview with tennis insider James Gray. “Whoever he is going to coach, I think the player is going to be great.”

All the speculation started on September 15, when Ferrero disclosed his plans to return to the Tour next year during an interview with Moviestar Deportivo. The announcement meant that the Spaniard was ending his one-year hiatus from the sport after splitting with Alcaraz late last year.

Since the announcement, there has been a lot of speculation about the player that Ferrero would coach. While Rafael Jodar’s name has taken some precedence among experts and analysts, speculative reports have also surfaced suggesting a remarkable link-up with Jannik Sinner.

Both candidates make sense for Ferrero, with Jodar being a young Spaniard with a lot of potential whose profile matches that of Alcaraz. The 20-year-old has reached two Tour-level finals this year, winning his maiden title at Marrakech. He had his Grand Slam breakthrough as well, reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open along with credible semifinal runs at the Barcelona Open and the Canadian Open. Having finished the previous season as No.168 on the rankings, the Spaniard reached a career-best ranking of 11 last month.

However, one area where the Spaniard has seemingly struggled is against Top-10 opposition, against whom Jodar has a 1-5 record. Given how Ferrero helped Alcaraz become a dominant force against the best players in the world, he would be the ideal choice for the Spaniard. On the other hand, coaching Jannik Sinner would be a tantalizing proposition for Ferrero as well, given that he has expressed interest in coaching the Italian in the past.

Sinner’s no-nonsense attitude has the potential of meshing well with Ferrero’s disciplinarian approach, making them a strong team. There is also the prospect that Darren Cahill, one of Sinner’s integral team members, might end his tenure with the Italian. The veteran Australian coach was already set for a 2025 exit, but stayed on after conversations with Sinner.

Not to mention, the current World No.1 is struggling with a knee injury, which has kept him out of action since the Wimbledon final on July 12. If anyone knows how to guide a player through a recovery process, it would be Ferrero, as he steered Alcaraz towards a French Open title back in 2024, even when the Spaniard was carrying an arm injury.

While time will tell who Ferrero’s next player will be, Alcaraz was not wrong to say that whoever hires the Spaniard will be well off, given the trophy-laden years the Alcaraz-Ferrero partnership had before the split.

Juan Carlos Ferrero Had a Fruitful Partnership With Carlos Alcaraz

In the seven years they were together, Ferrero guided Alcaraz to 24 titles, including 6 Grand Slams and 8 Masters 1000 titles. Ferrero earned the accolade of Best Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2025, with Alcaraz ending the 2022 season as the youngest World No.1, and then finishing No.1 again last year while winning eight titles, the best tally in a single season.

However, the Ferrero and Alcaraz partnership ended last year because the parties could not resolve their issues during contract negotiations. The two also came into conflict at times, with Alcaraz often opting for breaks between tournaments, whereas Ferrero, being the strict disciplinarian, wanted the Spaniard to keep playing.

Alcaraz is not the only player with whom Ferrero had a brief issue with approach. Before the Spaniard, Ferrero was at the helm of Alexander Zverev’s coaching team, and while the German won the Canadian Open and Washington titles under his guidance in 2017, the partnership ended in 2018 due to contrasting philosophies.

Having won the Australian Open with Samuel Lopez by his side, Alcaraz has already shown that he can adjust to Tour life with Ferrero. Now, it remains to be seen if Fererro can alter and adjust his approach while taking on a new challenger, after having coached the same player for a long duration.

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