Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero will not be working together for the 2026 season.
Alcaraz announced his split from Ferrero in a lengthy social media post, after working with the 2003 Roland Garros champion since the age of 16.
There was a huge reaction to this news, with tennis fans left shocked by Alcaraz’s announcement.
This then turned into confusion after Ferrero revealed he wanted to keep working with Alcaraz.
Jon Wertheim reacts to Carlos Alcaraz’s split from Juan Carlos Ferrero
As the speculation continues over the real reason for Alcaraz and Ferrero’s split, tennis journalist Jon Wertheim has weighed in on the situation.
When speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Wertheim admitted like many that he was surprised by the announcement.
However, Wertheim also revealed that he had heard from his sources that there had been a disagreement between Alcaraz and Ferrero over him taking ‘commercial opportunities’.
“You could tell from those messages that they were not perfectly aligned,” said Wertheim, reacting to the news. “We are not throwing mud here but it doesn’t sound like they were completely on the same page.
“What I am hearing from well informed sources is that there was a bit of friction about how much to take advantage of the commercial opportunities.
“Ferrero, who runs a very tight ship and is very focused on the tennis, certainly this is not the first instance of an agent or a family and a coach having a bit of a disagreement over how much energy and focus to pour into training vs commercial opportunities.
“So this is surprising. I have also heard that the off season camp is at the Ferrero academy. We are about 10 days away from Alcaraz leaving for Australia so the timing is a little weird.”
Why do you think Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero split?
Alcaraz has previously been criticised for playing exhibition tournaments during the off-season after complaining about the tennis schedule.
What is next for Carlos Alcaraz after his split from Juan Carlos Ferrero?
A lot of the time players and coaches split after poor results, but that is certainly not the case for Alcaraz, who ended the year as world number one after winning eight titles in 2025.
The Spaniard now has some big decisions to make, with Alcaraz searching for a new coach to replace Ferrero.
Samuel Lopez will take Ferrero’s role for the time being, with Alcaraz now gearing up for the start of the 2026 season.
Who would you like to see coach Carlos Alcaraz next?
Alcaraz is not playing any tournaments before the Australian Open, other than an exhibition match against Jannik Sinner in Seoul.
After competing in the South Korean capital, Alcaraz will look to complete the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open.
This is one of Alcaraz’s biggest goals for 2026, and his split from Ferrero seems like far from ideal preparation for such an important first tournament of the season.
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