Patrick Mouratoglou thinks Juan Carlos Ferrero has done something recently that could ‘hurt’ his relationship with Carlos Alcaraz, ‘it’s risky’

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Carlos Alcaraz has been in fine form recently, reminding fans of his immense talents on clay.

The Spanish star recovered well from a tricky spell on hard courts with a fantastic showing at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Alcaraz beat Lorenzo Musetti in the final, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, to lift his sixth Masters 1000 title and his first in the principality.

Carrying that momentum through to his next tournament, Alcaraz reached the final of the Barcelona Open.

Coming up short against Holger Rune, Alcaraz picked up an injury that saw him miss his home Masters event in Madrid.

Ahead of his return to tennis in Rome for the Italian Open, Patrick Mouratoglou has noticed something that could potentially threaten the 22-year-old’s relationship with his coach.

Patrick Mouratoglou thinks Juan Carlos Ferrero’s comments could ‘hurt’ relationship with Carlos Alcaraz

Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, spoke candidly in the four-time Major champion’s Netflix documentary about his commitment to tennis.

There were evident differences in opinion between the pair when Alcaraz chose to party in Ibiza before winning Wimbledon in 2023.

Speaking on Instagram, Naomi Osaka’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, explained why he was ‘very surprised’ to hear Ferrero’s comments.

“First of all, what Carlos [Alcaraz] has accomplished at a young age is unbelievable,” he said.

“I was very surprised to read that his coach, said publicly that he was not committing 100%.

“It will bring a lot of criticism, it’s really difficult to manage that.”

Mouratoglou shared his thoughts on Alcaraz’s approach to tennis and revealed whether or not he thinks it is the ‘right way’ to go about things.

“Apparently, the way he deals with the pressure is not to commit 100%, which is actually a behavior that is quite usual for professional athletes,” he said.

“That’s a way to take pressure away. Is it the right way? For sure not.”

The Frenchman went on to suggest what could now happen between Ferrero and Alcaraz after the former commented on the latter’s commitment publicly.

“I would try to solve the problem between him and me. His coach probably did try, and it probably doesn’t work, so he probably goes to the next level,” said Mouratoglou.

“He’s trying to motivate his player. Is it the right way? I don’t know. If it works, then bravo.

“If it hurts the player and hurts the relationship between the two, then I would say it’s not a good job.

“So we’ll see what the consequences are, positive or negative, or maybe a bit of both.

“Let’s see how Carlos received it. Maybe he will have a reaction to that, a positive one. But it’s risky.”

Some questions have been asked about Ferrero’s role in Alcaraz’s team in 2025, following the 22-year-old’s success at tournaments his coach chose not to attend.

Alcaraz’s two tournament wins in 2025, at the Rotterdam Open and Monte-Carlo Masters, came without Ferrero by his side, instead working under the guidance of Samuel Lopez.

During the Netflix documentary, Ferrero suggested he could leave his current role as Alcaraz’s coach if standards were to slip.

“If you’re not sure [you want to be the best], if you want to be number 15 in the world, we’ll lower the expectations,” said Ferrero.

“But the way I am, I think I’d find it very hard to keep going.”

Carlos Alcaraz’s route to the 2025 Italian Open title

Alcaraz and Ferrero will no doubt look to win their first title together in 2025, at the Italian Open.

The Spaniard has won just two matches in Rome to date, appearing at the event for the first time in 2023.

• 2023 Italian Open 3R – Carlos Alcaraz lost to Fabian Marozsan, 3-6, 6-7
• 2023 Italian Open 2R – Carlos Alcaraz beat Albert Ramos Vinolas, 6-4, 6-1

Luckily for Alcaraz, Fabian Marozsan has been placed on the opposite side of the draw to him in 2025, although there are several other big names he could be set to come up against.

Carlos Alcaraz’s route to the title (By ranking)

• 2025 Italian Open 2R – Yoshihito Nishioka
• 2025 Italian Open 3R – Alex Michelsen
• 2025 Italian Open 4R – Grigor Dimitrov
• 2025 Italian Open QF – Jack Draper
• 2025 Italian Open SF – Alexander Zverev
• 2025 Italian Open F – Jannik Sinner

Alcaraz would likely be the favorite in his opening few matches, but will be wary of his potential quarterfinal opponent, Jack Draper.

Draper beat Alcaraz at Indian Wells in their most recent encounter and made a breakthrough on clay recently, reaching the final of the Madrid Open.

A tough test against defending champion Alexander Zverev could then follow, with whom he trails the head-to-head 4-5.

If he were to make it past Draper and Zverev, a mouth-watering clash against the returning Jannik Sinner could await him.

The pair have faced off in two previous finals, with Sinner winning in Umag, Croatia, three years ago, before Alcaraz got his revenge in Beijing, China, last October.

Only time will tell if Alcaraz or Sinner can reach the final in Rome, but it’ll certainly be worth tuning in for.

Alcaraz will begin his Italian Open campaign against either Yoshihito Nishioka or Dusan Lajovic on Friday, May 9.