“Right now, I’m hurting”: Juan Carlos Ferrero opens up on Alcaraz breakup

As the dust settles following the shock split between world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, the first party has finally broken his silence.

A “hurting” Ferrero spoke to Spanish sports newspaper Marca this week from his academy in Villena, Spain, roughly a week after the news was revealed through a series of social media statements. Ferrero offered his side of what has become a messy breakup between one of the ATP’s most successful coach-player partnerships in recent memory, pointing to a breakdown in contract negotiations as the decisive factor.

“Everything seemed like it was set to continue,” Ferrero said. “It’s true that when the year ends, there are certain things at the contract level that have to be looked at. And as in any new contract, looking ahead to next year, there were certain things on which we did not agree…

“It may be that they could have been saved if we had sat down to talk, but in the end we didn’t sit down and we decided not to continue.”

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Ferrero was quick to shut down speculation around money, saying “the financial issue wasn’t one of the problems” that led to the split. His comments addressed rumors in the Spanish press suggesting he had demanded a dramatically higher salary to remain in Alcaraz’s camp.

He also dismissed reports that a clash between training bases played a role. Alcaraz grew up training at the Carlos Alcaraz Academy in Murcia, run by his father for more than 30 years, while Ferrero operates the Ferrero Tennis Academy in Villena, where Alcaraz spent much of his formative time on tour.

“We’ve never seen this as a rivalry,” Ferrero said. “We’ve gradually come to understand that, given the demands of the tour, Carlos would want to spend more time at home… We offered the academy so he could train whenever necessary, but it was never an obligation. Never.”

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I gave it my all. I poured my heart and soul into this project... Right now, I'm hurting. Ferrero on Alcaraz split

Ferrero, the former world No. 1 and 2003 Roland Garros champion, began coaching Alcaraz when he was just 15 years old. After a brief stint working with Alexander Zverev, Ferrero said at the time that he wanted to help “build” a player from the ground up. Few could have predicted how successful that project would become.

Over seven seasons together, Alcaraz captured 24 ATP titles, including six Grand Slam trophies, and rose to become the youngest world No. 1 in the Open era. Their success earned Ferrero ATP Coach of the Year honors in 2022 and again in 2025, while Alcaraz, now 22, regularly referred to him as a “second father”.

In the initial social media statement announcing the split, Ferrero said he wished he “could have continued” the partnership. He reiterated that feeling in Marca, though his tone suggested he’s ready to accept the end of the chapter.

“I think maybe we both need some time to fully process this breakup,” Ferrero said when asked about his current relationship with Alcaraz. “It's not so easy. Right now, I'm hurting. These kinds of relationships are difficult to end overnight...

“I gave it my all. I poured my heart and soul into this project,” he added. “I think I invested a huge amount of time, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of work, and I think it was important to find the team and the people who let me do it. In the end, I'm incredibly grateful for something like this.”

While Ferrero said he’s “not closing the door” to a possible reunion in the future, he also made clear that he plans to take time before committing to another coaching role.

Alcaraz has yet to comment publicly on the split. He is reportedly set to be coached by Samuel Lopez for the foreseeable future, with Lopez having joined the team as an assistant coach in December 2024.

The world No. 1’s immediate focus remains a maiden Australian Open title, the only Grand Slam missing from his résumé and the final step toward completing a career Grand Slam. The tournament gets underway on January 18.